The Hylden Queen
by Legend's Legacy
Summary: Kain is hard set on revenge, but then again, so is the the Hylden Queen...takes place during Blood Omen 2....
1. Chapter 1

Ok, this is my first story so don't be too harsh on poor little me. And I know the title could have been a lot more original, but I got lazy. This first chapter really doesn't have much to do with the Hylden Queen. If you skip most of it then you won't miss much if you played BO2…aww, then what's the point? I promise it'll get better! I hope it's not to stupid of a story like my sister says it'll be, but here goes nothing…without further ado, here it is, _The Hylden Queen… _

**The Hylden Queen**

In the bowels of a prison, they let their hatred grow. Where no time passes, where torture frequents all of its inmates, they let the decay settle in there hearts. Where the goal was once purification, corruption now reins. In the eternal prison, she watches as no progress is made…

In her cell, she sees it all begin. A crocked smile graces her solemn, beautiful features, they cannot hold her back for much longer now…

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Kain smirked, at the ghost. How could she even begin to think he would give his life up? What had the world ever sacrificed for _him_?

Kain knew what was to happen next, this drama was the only thin to see behind closed eyes, and slowly it was driving all other memories out. He wondered how many times before that was all he could see, the sight of magnificent pillars, once tall and proud, brought crashing down upon themselves by one man's refusal. How long until he could speak only those words spoken before the decision that Nosgoth would be his? And how long, he wondered most of all, until he did not wake at all?

At this last thought, images of a strange woman clad in a royal blue with foreign markings about her face flashed through his mind, shocking his eyes open. For a moment, he merely stared up at nothing before absorbing his consciousness.

"Good evening…" 

Kain sat up, clutching at his throbbing head. He glanced up. So the girl was real and, presumably, knew him. Further small talk escaped the stranger's mouth, but nothing of consequence. Kain surveyed his surroundings. At one point in its probable short life, the room must have been fashioned for a nobleman, though its once elegant features were now riddled with years of decay. His surroundings were by no means familiar.

"Where am I? I don't recall…"

"Yes…" said the woman as if coming to a conclusion "they said your memory would be effected by your long slumber." The woman paused to give Kain the once over as he had now gotten to his feet. "I am Umah, and I am her to help. Know this, your name is Kain and you were once a great general-"

"I know my name." He had heard his named being called to many times by that damned ghost to forget it.

"Then do you also remember your nature?" continued Umah, apparently un-phased by Kain's rude interjection.

"Of course…" Kain sneered and flashed long white fangs as he followed Umah out on to a balcony.

"You are in Meridian, the currant capital," she stated to answer Kain's original question. "And _this_ is what has become of Nosgoth…" Umah finished making a large gesture with her arms to include the whole view their perch had to offer. The view, however grand it might have been, was mostly obscured by industrial smog. When Kain said nothing, she continued. "You have been asleep for two hundred years, in that time much has changed. Since your down fall, the Sarifen have reestablished power and vampires have been hunted mercilessly and the Sarifen lord, he who wrote your ending, rules it all."

Kain needed no reminding of his defeat, the very mention of it made Kain burn with anger. "Show me to this Sarifen Lord and he will be dead within the night!"

"If it were that easy, we would have killed him ourselves, in your current state, you would be lucky to make it past just one of his vampire servants…!"

"Vampires in service to the _Sarifen_? _Are they mad?_ What ever happened to the natural order of things? Vampire praying upon human!"

"That is what we are trying to reestablish by undermining the rule of the Sarifen. And destroying the Sarifen Lord will do just that…"

"You sound so sure that killing the Sarifen lord will topple the foundations the Sarifen have built upon…"

"He is their only source of leadership they have, it will destroy the Sarifen. Have patience Kain, you shall have your revenge, but first we feed..."

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Her eyes glowed green in the darkness, a grim reminder of her rightful heritage, and an eternal reminder of her hatred for _them._ Soon, very soon now, they would find that which they call '_the eternal prison'_ could never stand eternity… She smirked; those who imprisoned her would feel her wrath _at last._


	2. Chapter 2

Ok people, this is the second chapter. _Should_ I have given you all 1 and 2 to begin with? Sorry. Oh well, too late now. I didn't expect anyone to review! I don't know if it's any good but since some one said it had potential, I shall continue!

She was in no position to order the anything of any one. However, no one was inclined to deny her. She was a powerful woman and all unlucky enough to be forgotten with her knew this. She was undeniably a queen. Her past was shrouded in mystery and now she was ready to destroy it completely. There was more _anger_ then ever escaping from her exquisite cell then ever, and in additional there was something new...A sadistic sort of satisfaction and pleasure. All feared her and now she was power, she _was all_ in the prison...

As Kain stepped into the ally way Umah had disappeared down, he saw that the area was quite abandon. So much for feeding. As he was about to protest, a voice penetrated the silence of the night. "Kain, do not be afraid, I am using the a whisper. A natural ability of all vampire. Do not worry, I can not read your thoughts, just speak into your mind and hear you in return." So, the noise was all in his head. Natural ability? Certainly _he _had never used it before. But then, all the vampires he had ever needed (or at least wanted) to contact were always waiting on hand and foot... "follow me, Kain if you want your meal..."

As it was, Kain was hungry and was in no mood to question Umah's exhaustive tactics. The city was a labyrinth and Kain wasn't partial to getting lost, so going to find his own prey was out of the question. Little did he like to say it but he needed Uhma for the time being, so he did as he was instructed.

Uhma was waiting for Kain around the corner for him. And she let him know she had other ideas for him before she brought him to feed...

"Train me! What do you take me for, a dog?"

"Your body has lay dormant for two hundred years, what skills you had acquired are all but deteriorated. The only abilities you seem to have kept ar your 'mist form' and 'rage'. However, you'll need to relearn the basics before you may have forgotten. Now follow me..." And Kain did so, the hunger was greater then the indignity for the time being. So Kain put his energy aside for the remedial task ahead instead or arguing, besides, it wasn't going to long for Umah to find he needed no training in how to kill...

Her devoted servant prepared her for departure, it would be soon now. He was in a state of slight panic, there was so much he had put off until last minute that he shouldn't have. Her feet still adorned ornate shoes unfit for the journey she had planed. Her crown hadn't seen daylight since the day she was damned to her cell, and yet somehow managed to tarnish horribly. Her face was dirty with all the years dust that had settled from centuries of being immobile. She wore the face of a statue to fit, she had been like this for the better portion of two hundred years. His masters reasoning was a mystery to him, but he was not here to question her, he was here to serve her. He was just inspecting his performance (every thing was to be perfect if he wanted his reward) when she spoke to him for the first (and last) time for two hundred years.

"My servant, you have done well. As I promised, your reward..." She unsheathed a dagger an advanced upon him. He wept with joy, his master truly was merciful...

AN: So, how was that? Did I ruin it? Is it ok? I don't know, my sister still says it's a bad idea...but then she only writes comedies...


	3. Chapter 3

The Hylden Queen left her kill to retrieve her crown, caring nothing for the man that lay at her feet. He had served his purpose, now was time for her escape. Should she feel so inclined, she would mourn later. There were no guards to hinder her, they had long sense forgotten about her, and the other prisoners weren't likely to protest her leaving, she _was_ their main source of punishment after all. The terror her very name brought to them was ridiculous.

No, the real problem was the magic cast about her cell to keep her in. This was why it had taken her so long to escape, however, the magic grew weak when the pillar guardian of balance was near. Why this happened was unclear, a lazy spell caster and the warping effect of time was probably the case. She didn't really care for the reason, the balance guardian was close and that was all that mattered. In the end she was going to escape and she was going to get her revenge, even if it destroyed her afterwards.

She glanced into the grandiose mirror that adorned the intricately painted walls as she placed the crown atop her horned head. She took a deep breath. She was ready to leave this place forever...

Kain had satisfied Umah's demands and was ready to take blood. All else had been driven out of his mind at this point. The damned woman had run off again, forcing him to pursue should he expect his meal. He was having the thought to just leave Umah and find his own prey as he walked through yet another door. As he walked through this one however, he was greeted with the pleasure of _actually _seeing the elusive girl instead of merely sensing her presents. It was odd how Umah happened to show her self just as he was thinking of leaving her to make his own...

Instead of voicing his concerns of this strange behavior he voiced something that bothered him more, "This city is like a labyrinth..." It was true he was no stranger to following back allies and side routs, but he was also accustomed to walking around the building and finding the back of it.

"All the better for our hunting ground..." was Umah's response to this, and Kain could not disagree more, he was keen on his space. But Umah continued, "there is a thug, from a local gang who sought to murder yet another helpless victim but he met me instead ..."

Kain cared not for any of this, he wasn't picky on who was _his_ victim either. "Spare me the moral anecdote and show me to him!"

Umah put a hand on her hip, "Very well. Now tell me Kain, are you hungry?"

Kain thought he had shown enough evidence for that question to have already been answered, perhaps the girl was just stupid... "yes..." he answered none the less.

"Then come," she turned and jumped from her perch "it is time that you feed..." at least they could agree on that much.

Her Majesty, as they liked to call her, was leaving. While the others imprisoned there cowered from the sight of her towering above them, he had been the lone inmate to see it happen. She killed the man who did her biding, as was expected, death was a release they all prayed for. Then, she did the most extraordinary of things, she closed her eyes and grunted and when she opened them again they were glowing with an unnatural light. As the light in her eyes intensified, a glow around her cell started to appear. It looked as if it was a wall and it had what was undoubtably magic text inscribed on every inch of it. The glowing increased and Her Majesty was lost to view. The wall suddenly cracked and dissipated in to no more then a mist. She emerged from the mist looking self satisfied as the whole prison groaned with the weight of her actions. The entire structure swayed dangerously as if a major block had been removed. An additional magic wall struggled vainly to hold her back. She merely brushed it aside as if it were nothing but a cobweb. This must have been the magic that had provoked the screams the man had let out during his and Her Majesty's time together, whatever it was, it bent the rules of time and space. She had mastered the rule of the Eternal prison and that frightened him.

Admittedly, she was tired, but she expected that. That was powerful magic she had to dispel. Now that she rested, she wondered how she had the energy to walk out of there with her head held high and thoughts full of her immediate revenge. Walking at all was a chore now. She owed much to adrenalin for just pushing past the second wall! Her energy source was a mystery after that.

As curious as the origin of her power was, something else was even more intriguing. Though the land had shifted drastically during her imprisonment, she had an oddly in-depth knowledge of her bearings. Useful, yet unnerving. She had been fully prepared to need a tour guide. However, now was not the time for speculation, the sooner she started her hunt the easier it would be to find her quarry.

Then the voices started. She stopped in her tracks, she was _not _prepared for this. There wasn't just one voice, there were manny. None were addressing her, more as they were all talking with one another. One conservation in particular was especially useful for her...

'Vorador,' one voice said 'Kain is awake. I am taking him to the Slums to feed...' what the other said was of little consequence at this point. She smiled, now wasn't this interesting...

NA: Whew! I got through it! I really appreciate the feed back people! Thanks for that, I want to make this the best I possibly can!


	4. Chapter 4

Umah made an annoying habit of ignoring questions. Especially questions about this 'Cabal' she wanted him so badly to become a member of. She was quite the dedicated little girl scout, said the leader was a great man . . . but then, she also said this city was a great place so her judgment was questionable. With his hunger satisfied, Kain was happily resisting her authority over this situation. He would make snide comments about her unwillingness to speak of her leader at every possible interval. It was most satisfying, as Umah would become exasperated and try to explain it was for secrecies sakes, which only gave him more reason to do it again moments later. Kain had little else to entertain him, so might as well pick on her. At any rate, he had been doing just that for the last half hour as she lead him through the city. She promised answers at the Cabal headquarter, which was the only thing that kept him following her.

He found that Umah would get especially panicked when he took his time. She would fidget and whine at him to hurry, Kain found this especially amusing.

"Kain! Hurry! This way!" and Kain, enjoying himself immensely, took his time. "Kain! _Please!_" Kain smiled to himself, watching her bounce about in agitation. "This way!" He meandered too and fro, wandering about admiring the scene. As soon he was close enough for her to _know_ he had seen where she went she dashed through a gate, as impatient as ever, when a guard was waken rudely from his nap. Apparently the guard was trained to sense a vampire's presence.

"VAMPIRE!" Kain scoffed at the guard's speculation. _Apparently that was a vampire._ Kain stepped forward to walk through the gate only to be thrown back, searing pain raging through his entire body. _A ward gate._ He thought to himself. How he knew this information was a mystery, however, wondering about it was not his top priority. The gate prevented him from following Umah any further, preventing him access from the Cabal headquarters.

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She had set her corse for Maridian, the closest city to the Eternal Prison and the biggest city in Nosgoth in present time. The entire city had once been called 'the Slums' if she called correctly. A city to hold the especially impoverished, the sick and the insane. Oh yes, this city was around even _then_. Apparently it had flourished in the days of her imprisonment. She passed through several small towns terrifying people as she went. All of these cities were poorly guarded against her and all who tried to attack, fell before her. All and all, little had been acquired from these towns other then a cloak.

A little over an hour later she arrived at the gates to her destination. The guards seemed to have abandoned their post in favor of sleep in this late hour, putting their complete trust into their security system. She examined this gate, and it seemed to have all the properties of a well functioning ward gate. A wise decision for maintaining the security of a city if you're trying to fortify against vampires or even humans. A poor choice if you're trying to fortify against the Hylden Queen. As a Hylden, she could walk straight through it, and she took the liberty of doing so.

It wasn't long before she was entirely lost. Doing nothing but wandering the numerous back allies and occasionally stumbling upon those unfortunate enough to question her presence there. It seemed her luck had run dry, she had seen neither head nor tail of he whom he sought when she happened to bump into something interesting indeed. _A glyph write_. Funny he should be hiding behind a human facade. It was, she must admit, a convincing front, but she had no doubt, this was a Hylden. Perhaps he could, we'll say, _assist_ her somehow...

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Kain was at a loss as to where to even begin. The back allies proved far too big a challenge for him to tackle on his own. He hadn't the slightest clue as to where the main roads were precisely, but he had his instincts to follow. However following his instincts was more frustrating then it should have been. It lead him not to the main roads of Maridian, but deeper into the maze of the allies, and seemingly, to every dead end that was on his path. Then he saw..._someone._

"I asked you a question!" it was a woman and she was defiantly _not_ human. She was average height and had a cloak on hiding what she wore underneath. What set her apart was..._ unusual_...features about her head. She had a serious, gaunt face, though not ugly. Beautiful. She had thin lips that seemed to set the mood of her entire face. Her eyes were green and in-place of hair, three horns that started at her forehead and curled around her ears (while one central horn remained straight and ended at just the same point her neck did.). The woman seemed to have been receiving unsatisfactory answers by the looks of it. Kain stayed hidden, oddly intrigued by this odd woman.

"When someone asks you a question, it is customary you answer them. Or are you slow?" She hissed at the man she seemed to be interrogating as she slammed him against the wall of this particularly thin passage. "Now, I expect an ANSWER!" it was clear she was angry now if anyone had any doubts, it would be foolish to interrupt her. Well, for any human.

"P-please! Your M-majesty! If I tell you, he wi-will have me k-killed!" he stammered.

"No worse then what _I_ will do to you if you _don't_ tell me!" she seethed through gritted teeth and tightened her grip on the man's cloths and shook him slightly.

"Please..." he whimpered.

"If you tell me, I'll consider mercy." The woman enticed. This seemed to convince the man to give in.

"I'm not sure wh-where he keeps it exactly-not manny do-but he has it! I swear! S-somewhere in the industrial quarter... That's all I know!"

"Good." she let him go and pulled out a knife.

He started to panic. "What are you doing? Wh-what about mercy? Why are you doing this?"

She smirked. "This _is_ my mercy! I never said I'd let you live! Why am I doing this? Well, because you don't deserve to live. And besides, I only ever said I'd _consider_ mercy..." Her blade was no more then a flash, but it did the job it was made to do. The intoxicating sent of spilt blood filled his nostrils, reminding him of exactly how close he was to this woman.

She started to clean her knife, when she addressed him directly. "Kain, I've been dying to meet you..."

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AN: are manny chapters a bad thing? Because I seem to be making a lot of them. Maybe I should get to the point faster... Ah well, I wonder if I ruined it? I put (what I hope is) a little more personality into this chapter... I'm not sure if it turned out that great...


	5. Chapter 5

Kain was bewildered as to how she had seen him and to why she knew his name. The 'how' could be explained numerous ways, but the 'why' was a little harder. He crouched in the shadows, unwilling to move should she have been talking to some other unknown intruder. She turned and looked up at him, as he feared she would.

"Why do you lurk in the shadow so? Are you ashamed of something?" the strange woman asked. She seemed to have every intention of mocking him, so he straightened and came forth. Barely had he endured this woman and already she irked him. She needed to be put in her place. She smiled in a manner that suggested no humor, but self satisfaction. "Quite the proud creature, aren't you?" she observed.

"Who are you? How do you know me stranger?" Kain was not in the mood to be toyed with.

"My, my. Don't we cut straight to the point? No beating around the bush for you, is there?" Kain gave her a strong glare. "Not to be distracted by small talk either, I see... Very well. I am Rose, former queen of the Hylden race. How do I know you? Well I've been watching you for a while..." Kain put himself on defensive, he didn't like the way this 'Rose' eyed him. She seemed to notice. "My dear child, there is no need to feel threatened, you see we both want the same thing. . . revenge!" Kain snarled at her. Rose sighed, she should have known he wouldn't trust her. "Kain, we both want the Sarafan Lord dead. I can help you, trust me Kain, you'll need my help." Kain didn't look convinced, and he wasn't. "Kain, let me take you to- what was it?- the Blue Lady, perhaps that will convince you of my sincerity." Kain started to bare his fangs. "No? Well, clearly you distrust me, so I'll leave you to your own then. If you change your mind, all you need do is call, keep in touch now!" and she disappeared into the shadow leaving Kain alone.

Kain was left confused and (once again) bewildered. Rose had said she was the former queen of the 'Hylden race', he had no inkling as to what a Hylden was. Or why she wanted the Sarafan Lord dead the same as he did. From waking, Kain had run into nothing but mystery and complication. This city certainly played host to many strange things. He wondered briefly wether any of the Cabal's members would know anything about whom Rose really was, no matter, he would ask when he reached the headquarters. . .

About three hours (and several puzzling situations) later, he managed to find a way into the Blue Lady. The exterior was nothing special, it was (or what Kain figured it must have been at some point) a brothel. When you looked into the window, one could see nothing but a dusty sign that read 'Closed' and some dark furniture. Kain was skeptical, he was used to hidden lares, but normally, he could feel a vampire presence of some sort. Also, something was telling him that something was out of place. Something wasn't quite normal. . .

Kain entered with caution, countless ambushes on his behalf had taught him well. He could hear voices when he entered, but not make out what was said. He heard a woman laughing, and the voice was disturbingly familiar. Though he had heard very little of it, he was sure it sounded an awful lot like that strange woman. . . He crept in the shadows, not wanting to draw attention to himself. When he reached the end of the corridor he was slinking down he found, to his great horror, _her._

"Of corse I don't want to run the place. I t's just, you've so much to improve on, especially your security..." she was saying as Kain made this horrendous revelation. Just as before, she turned and looked directly at him, "Kain! So you _can_ make it here on your own!" This woman was making herself far too comfortable with Kain. "I underestimated your sense of direction, you arrived mere minutes after I did and I had directions! Bravo Kain, bravo!" Kain had the distinct sense that Rose was making fun of him.

A growl escaped from the back of Kain's throat and shaped its self around words. "I don't appreciate you following me . . . "

"Alas, you've caught me in the act. I fear I've taken quite the liking to you." Rose breathed dramatically. She was situated on an extravagant chair near Umah and . . . _Vorador of all people!_ Well Kain expected he still lived and apparently, he was doing well for himself. Umah seemed upset by this arrangement. On the other hand, Vorador seemed to be enjoying himself for some reason. "Well, Vorador. It seems your golden-boy has arrived, shall we wrap this up . . . ?" The term 'golden-boy' made Kain's blood boil hotter. He gritted his teeth and dealt with it. The last time he let his anger take a hold of him, _she_ seemed to enjoy it.

Vorador gave her a small smirk. "Yes of corse . . . " he said with a flourish of papers that had been strewn about.

Umah seemed distressed as she stood and hurried over to where Kain was silently fuming. "Kain!" her voice seemed relieved, though her face was hard set in irritation. "Finally you arrive. Welcome to the Cabal" she turned and faced Vorador "and this is our leader, Vor-"

"Vorador." Kain finished for her, though not meaning to. "I should have known- my compliments." Kain bowed in mock respect.

"I need no false complements from you, Kain." Vorador stated shortly.

"This place has not the grandeur of your former abode, but it will have to do." Kain made it a point to scowl at Rose. Sense she was being tolerated here, it seemed she could be trusted to a certain extent, but that didn't mean he had to like her.

Rose merely smiled and said "Kain, why didn't you tell me you knew such a _charming_ group of people?" Kain could feel Umah bristle beside him. "And that girl was simply adorable!" Rose continued, apparently Umah had become her newest target. "She acted _so_ grown-up! She sat with the adults and chatted a while." She winked at Umah. "And Vorador and I, our connections just... _connected!_" Rose wriggled her eye brows suggestively, making Umah squirm uncomfortably. Kain had the feeling Umah had been getting this for the entirety of Rose's stay.

That action concluded why she was still there, it wasn't often Vorador had a willing woman to give him any attention. Even if it was just to upset someone else. Thou, Kain had to admit, flirting with Vorador for any reason was a task he was sure no woman had ever had the courage (or the stomach) to do before.

This had been a long night for Kain, his temper had been ready to burst sense he awoke and his poor mind had been worked until smoke drifted out of his ears. Perhaps this was just a bad dream, resulting from a particularly stressful day? As Rose continued to chatter with no relent and as Vorador started demanding the end of the Sarafan Lord, he slowly tuned it all out in vain hopes it was all a dream...

WMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWWMWMWMWMWMMWMWWMWMWMWMWMWWM NA: sorry it took me so long to update, I was on vacation for a while! Well I hope this chapter was satisfatory, I don't like the ending much but I'm to lazy to change it... 


	6. Chapter 6

Kain awoke hours later, not knowing when he had gone to sleep. The walls around him were grey and the small windows were blackened (wether with dirt, paint or magic was undetermined.) There was no evidence to suggest he was being held against his will and over all, he was feeling rather pleasant and refreshed. Well pleasant and refreshed until the memories started flooding back. Kain groaned inwardly, stress seemed to have assisted his returned to slumber. Rose and Vorador created _the most_ obnoxious duo he had ever allowed to live. He sat up and looked around, locating Umah waiting faithfully by his side once again. She was seated by Kain's bed on a chair. She had her head resting on a small end table, dozing, facing away from him.

Kain smiled (well, smirked rather) in spite of him self. Umah certainly was a ridiculous woman. All seemed quite, and Kain had no idea where inside the Cabal he was. He was eager to explore on his own. The feverous attitude of Umah could be left behind for a while. The only problem was, which way to go? He enjoyed the quite while it lasted, it meant there was no danger, no people, no vampires, no worries.

Kain had been wandering about for quite a while, and now understood the true meaning of the term 'silence is golden'. The silence would not remain undisturbed, however, for Umah was a ridiculous woman after all. 'KAIN!' Kain jumped at the mental shout in his head, cursing this particular ability Umah had.

'Umah.' He replied calmly despite the shock.

'Where in the world are you! You've been gone for hours!' Umah sounded panicked, as usual. Kain sighed, audibly _and_ mentally.

'I'm not sure, I woke up, got up and took a left.' Kain said with little concern. 'Where in the world are you?' He couldn't resist the sarcasm.

'I'm near by, somewhat . . . I was looking for you.' She sounded a bit flustered 'But now that I know you're safe, I have to leave for a mission.' Kain let out a snort of laughter. Of corse he was safe, what kind of weakling did she think he was? 'I can't tell you where I'm going, that's secret information only Vorador knows about . . . ' Kain really wondered why even mention it if it was so secret. 'I'm not going to be at the Cabal for a while, if you have any questions you'll have to go to Vorador.' Kain rolled his eyes, had he asked any questions the entire time he was there? No, and he didn't plan on asking any now. 'Kain, I have to concentrate on what I-' And then Kain heard no more, vaguely, he wondered what was going on, but he wasn't too worried about it.

He was wandering around the Cabal headquarters (which was surprisingly big for having been _just_ a brothel) when he _happened_ to run into none other then Rose, accompanied by an entourage of curious fledglings, who at the sight of him, huddled into a nice little bundle behind her.

"Kain!" She said delightedly at the sight of him, "Have you heard? Umah seemed to have been captured!" She giggled as if it was merely the latest bit of juicy gossip. "Which is such a pity, because she seemed to have been Vorador's _finest_ informant who had gotten some _fine_ _information_ . . . Aw- well, someone will just have to save her." Kain groaned inside his head, he could see where that particular responsibility would eventually be shunted to. Him. "Well, I just thought you aught to know, be seeing you!" And Umah left, the group of fledglings sidling uncomfortably past him. Kain really hated Rose at that moment. He really did . . .

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Kain arrived at the large room he had first found Vorador in, being summoned there, presumably to be sent away to rescue Umah. Kain gritted his teeth when he saw Rose smirking, seated by Vorador.

"Kain" Vorador started. "Rose tells me you are already aware of Umah's capture, is this correct?"

"Of corse it's correct." Kain growled.

Vorador ignored Kain's blatant hostility and continued. "Then I have to ask you to accompany Rose to retrieve her."

"You're lucky I have nothing against Umah, Vorador, you- wait, _accompany Rose?_" Kain interrupted himself. It was true Kain had nothing against Umah, but then, he didn't like her _that much_.

"Yes" Vorador seemed to be enjoying Kain's outrage as much as Rose did. "Rose is a powerful Ali, I intend to use her to my, and your, advantage." Rose was grinning from ear to ear, she seemed to think her soul purpose was to annoy Kain as much as possible, and in this purpose, she was succeeding.

Kain gritted his teeth. He hated not being in power. Especially now that he wanted to throttle the pair of them and had no authority to do so. But then, that never stopped him before. . . Kain snapped out of that train of thought fast enough to hear Rose start on her now familiar ranting. Kain's sigh went unnoticed, it was going to be a hard, long road and Rose would only make it that much longer.


	7. Chapter 7

**School. I rather dislike it. It's good for learning and all, but it's been cutting into my spare time. It's making my story get along rather slow. Not cool, I type slow as it is! I type now. STORY IS NOW!**

Umah was distraught . . . to say the least. It wasn't fair. She relaxed for two seconds to _whisper_ Kain and she was caught. She was not used too caring for someone who was _conscious._ They're the type of person who moved, who thought, got dangerous ideas on their own and acted on those dangerous impulses. She didn't want to be Kain's _mother_, but he did worry her so! Well, it was all his fault she was in this mess and now she didn't know what to do. She couldn't _whisper_ Vorador, Kain, or anyone. She was going to die in the morning regardless of what she did or did not do.

She fidgeted in her chains. The magic surrounding her cell sensed the movement and sent waves of pain through her, momentarily knocking her unconscious. If she kept this up, she wouldn't last until the morning. Maybe that was best, because no one was crazy enough to try and save her now, right?

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"WOULD YOU STOP TOUCHING ME, ROSE?" Kain bellowed.

"But why?" Rose was rather childish, as Kain had noted for the ump-teenth time.

She seemed to attract every single person and deeply offend them all. Not to mention, send them into a murderous rage, and _he_ had to deal with it. Always. He was really starting to resent Vorador. "Powerful Ali" is not the choice of words Kain would choose to describe Rose at this moment, more like "clingy" and "annoying" and a few other choice words that were a considerable amount more offensive.

Kain was tired of hearing Rose's voice. He was tired of seeing her face. But mostly he was tired of cleaning up the messes she created. Recently, Kain had taken to the back allies to avoid people so Rose couldn't torment them, unfortunately, this meant wandering around needlessly for hours in circles with Rose.

Presently, Kain had become lost. As he struggled in vain to recall where Vorador had said to turn from the last land mark, Rose was happily incinerating people she spied through a second-story window. Creating general disorder and an epidemic like panic was her specialty. Kain watched as she now started to use telekinetic powers to fling panic-stricken humans off the roof into the blue beyond called the horizon. Why didn't she use these powers when it would help their cause instead of when it amused her? He shook his head. As well as childish, Rose also happened to be rather defiant. Defiance had its place, but not on a rescue mission that _she_ had volunteered for.

Rose was now dangling one particular soldier by the ankles off the top of a very high building. Suddenly she froze, the giggle had left her lips and the man was mercilessly dropped nine stories onto his head.

"Damn-it." She swore. "_Must_ they be so _persistent?" _Her face now held a rather sour expression.

"Why must _who_ be so persistent?" Kain was impatient with Rose now. She had the tendency to talk to herself.

"That damn Sarafan Lord, always sending more to slaughter." Rose said completely ignoring Kain.

"Whom are you slaughtering, Rose?" Kain hated when she did this, which is probably why she did it.

"And they're all the same" Rose continued as if Kain wasn't even there. She took a moment to look pained. "_Always the same!"_

"ROSE! _WHOM_ ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?" Kain yelled, finally losing his temper. His had itched toward the sword hanging on his hip. He had come to the end of his rope and had no qualms about utterly decimating the useless woman.

"The vampire pets of the Sarafan Lord. I dislike their attitudes, they think I'm just another mortal . . . " Kain was stunned. _Vampire pets?_ The Sarafan had _vampires_ in their leagues! Some _vampires_ were, at this very moment, _betraying_ their own kind?

"The Sarafan Lord has . . . _vampires?_ There are _vampires_ that would . . . _obey_ the _Sarafan?"_ Kain was more that shocked. He was disgusted, disgusted that the mighty immortals would bend so low as to serve a _human_. Something in the back of his mind was telling the Sarafan lord was no human, but that part of his mind was easily ignored in his tempered state.

"You sound surprised!" It seemed that Kain's shock served only to give Rose something new to pick away at Kain's sanity with. You knew by the look of ecstatic, insane joy that possessed her face.

Kain ignored her joyous demeanor. "You've met -you've _killed- _one of these traitors?" Kain said quietly.

"Yes I have!" Said Rose, with silly pride. "It was disappointing really, all I had to do was start this one on fire . . . It turned out it was a man, but I could have _sworn_ it was a woman. He had such a feminine figure (I was a little put off by the face structure, but then it could have been that she was just ugly) but a man it turned out to be! I was surprised, to say the least, still, it was simple to-"

Kain interrupted Rose mid-rant. "Take me to the vampire who would turn his back on his own kind, let me _destroy_ this unworthy wart! Let me whip this blemish from the world of the living! Let me _kill_ him!"

Rose simply smiled. "Of cores, I knew I'd see this rage eventually. Now I see why Vorador favors you so much. You have potential to _grow_... Come, I'll take you to him." And for once in her life, Rose obeyed.


	8. Chapter 8

**Who likes Rose? I'm cerous, I kinda do like her but then, I kinda don't . . . She's ended up so . . . annoying, she also seems a little manipulative . . . and pushy . . . and a drama queen . . . It wasn't my intent to make her that way. It just happened. (After this chapter, the answer will probably be no one but I'll ask anyway.) So, I really want to know, who actually _likes_ Rose?**

Kain was livid. Rose was lucky that she had done as she had told, Kain **_still_** had no qualms about killing her. If she had not shown him the way, he would have found the traitor eventually. He had never been so angry in his life, or un-life. Never had he felt such a desire to kill. He wasn't going to hide his rage from the world. Kain would make sure, the ones who had upset him would know they had done so. The rage was almost . . . _painful_ . . .

Kain almost felt sorry for him, there would be little left to identify him by once he was through with him. The only issue he had was what to do with Rose. Should he tell her to sit nicely in the corner? If he did, he doubted she'd comply. Clearly her help wasn't needed so Kain was more then certain she'd slither in where she didn't belong when he wasn't looking. Should he just be so cruel as _sic_ on him for a few days? That would make any man want to commit suicide . . . perhaps that would be going too far . . . He thought about the perversion of the situation for a moment then reconsidered his last thought. _No, the punishment fits the crime perfectly . . ._

All of his thoughts were only fantasy however, he knew he would only be satisfied if he, personally obliterated this despicable character himself. No one else would do. Kain smiled, perhaps he would send Rose after him just as a warning of the hell to follow . . . Kain was developing Rose's twisted sense of humor, this wasn't good. The sooner he was rid of the woman, the better. There, as he followed her shadow, he promised himself something; He would never spend more then five minutes in the same room with her after the end of this cursed mission. But then, he knew, now that he promised himself that, he'd be seeing a lot of Rose . . . And that was a thought that would put any sane being in the most foul of moods. Kain, for the first time in centuries, grinned broadly; right now, Kain wasn't feeling very sane . . .

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Rose was smiling. It was somehow satisfying how angry Kain was. It was intoxicating. His rage was sending little chills up and down her back. Years of imprisonment had deranged her. It made the promise of violence exciting to her. It made her happy, ridiculously joyous at the mere thought of it. The mention of engaging in physically mutilating some poor person's soul had put a wide smile on her face. It made her so happy that it . . . well it _hurt_!

She had not always been that way, once upon a time she was a good person. Once she had been blessed with the genuine desire to help people. That, however, had been a very long time ago. Since then, it had faded away into a self-centered, controlling, sadistic personality. She was by no means a good person anymore, but something made her feel guilty when she hurt people too badly. She, personally, had never thought much on that other then how tiresome it was.

Rose never was one to question herself, more so others. Argumentative had _always_ been part of her nature. When she was young, it was merely called curiosity, but _she_ knew what it was. She had also always had an enjoyment of inspiring passion and great emotion. She liked to create a reaction. (And still did.) As a child, she was happy to make other people happy, but then . . . Well, that changed too.

Her smile faltered when recalling her twisted past. Every thing bad that had happened to her had eventually boiled down to one person, she had no intentions of letting him rise to the top. He would die, she would make sure of it, and her acceptance into the Cabal had made it _that_ much easier. She sneaked a sidelong glance at Kain. _Yes, it wouldbe **that** much easier . . . _The thought of destroying _him_ rekindled the grin. She was _so_ happy she had landed in this situation, _very_ pleased indeed . . .


	9. Chapter 9

**Marcus. I couldn't remember Marcus. I've been putting off this chapter because I couldn't remember him, eventually I just started replaying the game (I could have looked it up on that thing called the internet but, no, I had to replay it.) I was always going to change the where and when, but I needed to keep the Marcus. Well, now I remember (or rather, I got that far in the game) so I can write it now! Oh, and please review!**

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She was making him wait. He was impatient and she was taking so long. Kain would have followed her, but God knows in what state of undress she was in. He didn't want to see anything he would regret, like an exposed Rose. He had already acquired attire appropriate to the occasion and had no need to search for the proper clothing.

Rose on the other hand, did not. She delighted in making Kain suffer and this was her big opportunity. She would abduct some poor girl, scrutinize her body shape and choice of fashion for hours, kill the girl, and then decide the dress didn't fit right and the head piece was too tacky or that it was lovely, just a little _to_ blood stained. They were progressing into more and more heavily guarded area and the screaming wouldn't be so easily explained away for much longer. He would have to put an end to it eventually, Rose wouldn't be happy with it, but at least he'd be alive. Not that he couldn't handle the guards, no, things tend to spiral out of control and reason when Rose is involved.

"Ooh, Kaa-ainnn!" He heard her sing faintly on the other side of the door. She would do this every once in a while too. She would call him in, ask him how she looked, and no matter how he responded, would decide that this dress wasn't right either. He walked in with the intentions of telling her off when he saw what she was wearing.

"_What are you wearing?"_ were the first words out of his mouth, coincidentally.

"Hmm, too much then?" Rose was wearing an extravagant dress, magenta and black in color. It had a high collar, was a little tight in the chest region and had very little sleeves. To compensate for the sleeves, she wore elbow gloves that went past her elbows to her upper arms almost parallel to her armpits, reveling only small strips of skin. The head piece was of a simple design, it draped over her head and hid her less-than-human horns admirably. It fit like a bandana, reveling only her ears. She had on gaudy jewelry that matched the dress beautifully. Large, sliver tear-dropped earrings adorned her ears, rubies set in a gold ring sat delicately on her finger. A single black bracelet surrounded her left wrist.

"You look like a gypsy . . . or a fortune teller . . . " Kain mumbled, averting his eyes. It was a little indecent for the occasion.

"I like it! I think I'll wear this one." She said, much to Kain's horror. The point of the wardrobe change was to blend in better, not to call all attention to themselves. Dressed as such would attract a lot of questions. Her personality did that enough without being dressed so flamboyantly.

"You do realize were supposed to be _fitting in_ not _sticking out_, don't you?" asked an alarmed Kain. Rose smiled broadly.

"I could, if you like, try and find something else . . . How long until dawn I wonder . . . ?" She had taken her sweet time and made sure Kain knew she knew it. Another tactic she used to irk him with.

Sure enough his mouth drew up into a tight line and his eye twitched slightly, along with his fingers. "We're leaving before someone walks up and finds all these bodies . . . " He managed to mutter around his disgust.

"Aww! What's wrong? Can't Kain dispatch one wittle human now?" She said flirtatiously. Kain walked with his back rigid. Rose was really getting to him.

"No" said Kain angrily. "I can dispatch a thousand 'wittle humans' but unfortunately, though some may doubt it could ever really happen, I'm sick of killing things. In fact, the only thing I _want_ to kill is you!"

"Well, that's no good . . . " Sighed Rose. It really was no good, she really didn't think her pestering would make him _stop_ killing things. Rather the opposite of what she was aiming for. "No good at all!"

"From now on, Rose" said Kain vengefully "_You_ kill them, and _I_ will watch." Then, much to Kain's eternal shock, she didn't throw a fit. She didn't even argue or retort in any way.

"Fine by me." Was all she said on that matter. It _was_ fine by her, really. She didn't mind. From now on, it would be a new game . . .

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Umah was starting to accept her death, which was what was scaring her the most. She had moved past the fact that no one was stupid enough to come save her. It was better than pinning her hopes on those who have lived fore-hundred years and still can't figure out that water burns. She had realized that people like that would probably be caught asking for directions. (Vampires that stupid _deserve_ to die in her opinion.) For anyone to come that she was comfortable with to rescue her, there would have to be massive head trauma involved, but then, she'd rather they _not_ be the ones to do it at that point.

She spent her time (which seemed to move intolerably slow now that she had accepted her death) testing her restraints. She'd move forwards half an inch that set it off. She'd move her shoulders and slightly bent her knees that did it too. She moved her head from side to side. She could do that, well that was nice of them to allow. She tried moving her wrists in small circles, she didn't get far, she was immediately 'zapped'. So, she couldn't move her hands . . . She released a deep sigh, couldn't dawn come already?

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Time was of the essence, and Rose was only making things worse, as usual, although she was well on her way to proving herself as invaluable as Vorador had made her out to be. She was a merciless killer, quick and efficient, never staying to gloat over a victim. Kain would often notice that every time she got too riled, she would suddenly look . . . _restricted_ . . . More then restricted, pained and pathetic too. She looked as if she couldn't _do_ what she was _made_ to do. As if she was imprisoned within her own body, but then it would pass and she would be a conscienceless murder again, leaving Kain to wonder if he had actually seen it.

She was odd. She could change so suddenly. One minute she would be heartless then next she would be clingy and overly feminine. Kain wasn't sure if this arrangement was improvement or regression from the last. He decided it would be best for his mental well being to look at things as an optimist for now, Rose was rather apt at making things' feel hopelessly irrelevant and pointless, as it was.

The path behind them was now was riddled with dead bodies, it wouldn't be hard to follow them, but at least they were mostly quite kills. It was refreshing having someone doing your bidding, Kain realized. He rather enjoyed being in power, even if all the control was imaginary. The only trouble was, when indulging in blood, he didn't much like her audience. Despite this, Kain wasn't complaining, things were going smoother now then he could ever have dared to hope! (Albeit, she _did_ tend to go a little over board from time to time even by his standards, but Kain was willing to overlook that . . .)

They were on their way, being guided by Rose's excellent internal directions, while Kain enjoyed the free ride. He could see why Rose did this now. Everything was so much simpler when someone else was worrying about the little things. Now they were traveling through the homes of nobles. The guards of the rich were crawling through the streets, questioning anyone who looked any less then regal. Kain and Rose had no trouble fooling them.

There were few guards who could sense Kain's vampirism, but those were taken care of by Rose before they so much as glanced in their direction. Kain couldn't know exactly what Rose was doing to them, but he had seen none of them die and suspected she merely infiltrated their week minds and stirred things up. They were making it though the streets with little more then surprised glances from those still out for them to pass. Rose had her hands folded neatly in the crook of Kain's arm, making pleasant, relatively normal small talk as she guided him.

As they turned a bend, she stopped him. "We shall be surprising him shortly." Her smile was almost apologetic. "He doesn't know we're here. I've been masking our traces."

Kain raised an eyebrow, but didn't ask her to elaborate. She has been known to say random things such as: "That's clever, dear uncle, clever." And "Only if my families' blood . . . " and his favorite, "Damn that squid!" None of which made the slightest sense in any way ever possibly conceive in the instance.

They descended a large stair way silently that led to a barred tunnel. Kain's skin started to creep with anger, not because of the bars, because of what was _behind_ them. A vampire blinked up at them in obvious shock. Kain recognized him immediately, "Marcus! My old friend . . . "


	10. Chapter 10

**_Romance?! Romance with Rose and Kain?!_ That's just wrong! Sure, there'll end up being a slight one-sided romantic dido but, not _Rose_ of all people! Or Kain! That's a thought that never even had the audacity to be in my dreams! (And trust me, no matter how sad it is, I _have_ dreamed about Rose before. It was kinda scary, but it happened.)**

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The unknown vampire jumped away from the gate (preassemble having just stepping forwards to open it) as soon as they walked into his line of view.

"Marcus, my old friend . . . " Kain looked upon his bewildered acquaintance with nostalgia.

"You, I, when did . . . ?" He spluttered confusedly as he heard them, looking from Kain to Rose to Kain again.

"Oh yes . . . " Rose started as if reading his mind "We're quit real, no need to question your mental stability . . . well, for this reason any way. I can't entirely promise your state of mind out side of this moment . . . But rest assured! We are real! But then, if I were a hallucination, I still might be reassuring the same thing. Well, I also must add that real _is_ a relative term based on perspective, what the majority of people believe and the health of the person in question . . . but that brings us back to the whole sanity dilemma, doesn't it . . . ?" She rambled in her usual fashion.

It seemed that hearing Rose strengthened Marcus' notions of reality he had previous to their intrusion. In that respect, Rose's rant was a success, if not for the reasons she had intended. Ironically, it seemed to put him at ease and show him his own foolishness. Presently, he addressed Kain, really not wanting to encourage another bout of meaningless babble.

"'_Old friend'_? A poor choice of words Kain, we were never friends . . . " He tried recovering his lost dignity.

Rose spoke again, regardless of the fact that he had been referring to Kain. "My! But you are hard set on spoiling what could very well have been a beautiful reunion! Well, I do hear tell that you didn't part on a high note, but you really must be willing to put old grudges aside . . . !"

"_Old grudges?!" _He hissed indignantly. "Kain tried to kill me!"

"I seemed to have failed." Kain interjected with amusement.

"Unless he was re-reanimated . . . Do you think that's possible?" Rose thought aloud.

"No. It's not possible!" Marcus answered her, annoyed that he was nothing more then a joke to the pair of them. "You think me no more than a fool for your amusement?! I know the reasons you tried to kill me! You were afraid of my growing power, that's why you begged me to join you!" He cried in a fit of childish rage.

"_Begged?_ I never begged! I-" Kain started, Rose cut him off.

"You know Marcus, if you're _trying_ to hide something, you really shouldn't think about it so hard. It only makes it the easer to reach . . . " She took a moment to look absent mindedly over Marcus' shoulder. "Well, I don't believe we need to be bothering you much longer, I mean, I _do_ have all the information I need . . . Ta-ta!" Kain smirked, it seemed oddly satisfying to see Rose play with someone else's mind for a change. Rose turned as if to leave.

"NO!" Marcus shouted. "What did you do to me?!" He questioned (yet again) indignantly. Kain too was rather curious, what _had_ she done to him?

"Why Marcus! Have you never known the extent of the torture your own power can induce? Shame on you!" She scolded gleefully. "Well, now you know, don't you? You'll put it to good use now, won't you?"

"No, he won't put it to good use." Kain said, suddenly remembering his rage.

"Oh! Too true! Kain, you were so quite I almost forgot you were there! Of corse he won't be putting it to good use, silly me!" Rose turned her falsely surprised eyes away from Kain to Marcus, where they transformed dramatically into apologetic. "I fear I am in error, you see, we were tracking you down for one little reason, which (I'm afraid to say) cannot be avoided or procrastinated a moment longer! Now Kain, I believe it was _you_ who wished the honor of . . . ?"

"Killing me?" Marcus half suggested, half questioned. His lips twitched as if itching to scream their defeat.

"Why . . . yes! That _was_ what I was about to say! You really _do_ read minds don't you?" Read minds? Panicked rage flitted through Kain's head. Could Rose read _his_ mind?!

"I do not _read_ _minds!_ I invade it and make it mine!" Marcus replied disgustedly.

"Call it what you will . . . " Rose trailed off, but could not resist proving herself right. "But you could read minds if you wanted to, right?"

"Enough babble, woman! Let's see how you fair against your own beneficiary!" Marcus brought his hands up to his own head as if he had a bad headache. Kain reeled as he did so. It felt as though someone was trying to force a cargo ship to fit through his skull. He rebelled against the unpleasant sensation. Marcus suddenly stumbled backwards and gasped. "Impossible!" He managed to breathe around his own pain.

"Really," Rose stated in disbelief. "Did you think it would work? You honestly did, didn't you! You either have severely poor judgment, or a grotesquely swelled head . . . " Marcus lost it.

"I HAVE WAITED TWO HUNDRED YEARS TO KILL KAIN! I WILL NOT BE INSULTED LEAST I KILL YOU BOTH!" He fumed for a few minutes. When Rose stood with her hands folded in front of her smiling happily. "Strike that last . . . I _WILL_ KILL YOU BOTH! WE WILL MEET AGAIN AND YOU _WILL_ FALL, THE PAIR OF YOU!" He then disappeared in a puff of dramatic smoke.

"Pleasant fellow!" Rose commented cheerily and started walking away.

"Wait, Rose." Kain had to know, the curiosity was killing. "What did you do to him?" Rose turned and smiled.

"I read his mind." Kain was perplexed, could she do such a thing? Rose continued as if knowing what would come next. "At one point I could do it at will, but then (and this is part of why I want him dead so bad so listen well) the Sarafan lord imprisoned me and stole my power, sealing my strength in that damned stone! Oh, I can do it now (or could do it then) because what would be the point of restricting the power of his own servant? I was able to do that because Marcus could . . . I was merely acting the parasite, feeding from his ability to fuel my own."

"You said you got information . . . " Kain said slowly, implying his question.

Rose grinned widely. "I discovered a secrete shortcut . . . "


	11. Chapter 11

**What did Rose do so horribly wrong? So against her! I'm not saying Rose is particularly good or pleasant but, she's not seriously that bad . . . Here, I'll give some insight into her past, hmmm? I think that I'll be putting little blips of her past in most future chapters. It'll add what I think has been missing . . . Maybe. Or if no one is really interested I'll scratch that idea, tell me what you think, ok?**

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"Where's Liniea?" The young Hylden asked.

"Keep your eye on the game, you're making some _dire_ mistakes . . . " Her uncle replied.

"But where is she?" The young one persisted. The older Hylden sighed.

"She's gone. Anything you need, you'll have to get from Marionette-Alexandria or Canella."

The little girl frowned, lifting her head from her arm where it had been resting peacefully. "But I can't! Mary-A is Hylden, like us, and Canella is human!" Now it was her uncle's turn to frown.

"What does it matter?" He asked surprised.

"They have no wings! Liniea promised that she would take me flying one last time before she had to go away!" The girl pouted. She poked her head a little further into the air to see around the darkly decorated room as if searching. "Where _did_ she have to go anyway?"

Her uncle regarded her for a moment and decided to speak truthfully. "To the guillotine."

"'The guillotine'?" Her curiosity had been sparked. "What's 'the guillotine'?"

Once again her uncle regarded her and came to the same decision. "It's where your father went, the place where we send people to die."

Her face fell and her head hung, her hands clasped themselves respectfully in her lap. "Oh . . . "

"Don't be too disappointed, she was only a vampire after all . . . " Her uncle concluded. He smiled and moved a piece on the board in front of himself and his niece. The girl watched his movements closely.

"Uncle?"

"Niece?"

"Do you think you've won?" She asked, referring to the game.

"Well my dear little Rosie, do you think I've lost?" She assessed the situation on the playing board. She shook her head. It looked very much as if he hadn't lost.

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Kain was at wit's end with Rose. The talk, the constant talk! He despised the violent ups and downs Rose caused even more then he hated the woman herself. He was not in control, again. If Rose didn't have the information of this short cut, this blessed short cut, the unsavory woman would be dead in an instant. Her nonsensical blabber ricocheted from building to building, from room to room, from door way to door way, abolishing any possibility for discreet travel. Honestly, why not wear name tags and introduce themselves?

'Oh, hello! My name is Kain! Could you kindly direct my friend, Rose (who happens to be royalty you know), and I to the chamber in which the crazed vampire menace called Umah is being held? You see, we are a tad lost and it is imperative that we get there before sunrise . . . What's that? Why no, we don't want good seats at her public execution, we're actually on a rescue mission! Oh! And if you don't mind keeping this quiet, we really don't want to be in too much trouble with the authority . . . Thank you, Good night! Ah! One more thing I forgot to mention, I'm an Aries, I'm unmarried, and I too happen to be a vampire as well! I know, shocking isn't it? One would think I'd be taken by now . . . But anyway, do you think it would be to much trouble for me to drain you of blood in that dark, suspicious ally way over there, because that would be fantastic!'

Kain shuttered to think bringing this point up with her, god only knows she might start doing it! She asked many things of Kain, at first Kain answered with a less-then-pleased disposition, but he found that when he stopped all together, she continued as if he had responded favorably. Talking to herself as loud as possible, apparently, was a favored pass time, much to Kain's dismay. He had said it before and would say it again, Rose talked too much. Though not all the same problems applied to it, before it had been Kain killing every thing within the vicinity and hearing Rose chat pleasantly with the wall. Frustrating, really knowing someone else made the mess and you had to clean it, but now they had worked out a suitable combat system (having moved out of Rose doing all the work), 'if it comes by you, you kill it, if it comes by me, I'll kill it.' Though effective, it did sometimes result in childish debates consisting of: "Over half his body was flailing at you! You should have killed him!" And "He was only in my side because he was pushed by that body you threw! He was your's to kill!" But that was to be expected, he was dealing with _Rose_ after all, she who had the tendency to argue with children on the streets about which was better; chocolate or pie?

But in this particular instance, the shouting was most aggravating due to the fact that they happened to be hopping from roof top to roof top of some particularly lavish mansions. Being spotted up here was a sure fire way to get killed. The rich could afford to hide a body properly and the law meant even less to them, they lived by their own rules created by their own society of vanity. Lost in thought, Kain failed to notice that Rose had ceased her forward movement resulting, most painfully, in a collision. Each swayed a little, threatening to topple from the precarious perch the had come to rest on. When they had both regained their balance, Rose's muttering was repeated and made most clear.

"Oh my." She mused. "It seems we've been spotted!" Kain groaned, of all the places, why did it have to be _here_?

"How long has he been watching us?" Kain asked.

"Judging from the look on his face, quite some time now . . . " Rose responded, gesturing to a window, in which stood a horrified man clutching a tray, rooted to the spot.

"Perfect . . . " Kain breathed.

"We kill him, I presume?" Rose checked.

"We kill him." Kain confirmed.

The man watched mesmerized with a morbid curiosity as his assassins ascended silently from the darkness of the night sky to the very place he stood in wait. Not until their feet had touched down softly upon the window sill did it occur to him to run and not until the man spoke was the spell truly broken.

"Rose, make sure no one is about to burst in, I wouldn't want to be discovered as an unwanted guest." The fear set about his heart, making it beat faster. He could almost feel the desire for his own blood radiating from the vampire before him making him even more conscious of its beating. He opened his mouth to scream, but he was already dead.

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His business concluded (meaning the man was drained and his corps stashed in a closet), Kain set off. It was relatively safe to assume that no one had noticed, it had occurred to him quite early on in his proceedings as a vampire that humans are next to deaf; what with the roar coming from the other side of the door, it would be just shy of a miracle any of them to hear him even if he screamed until his lungs were shriveled.

Kain straightened his attire and breathed in deep. His break had been enjoyable but it was now time to continue with the mission. He grimaced, just thinking about the earful he'd get from Rose was giving him a headache. True, he had left her alone for a maximum of two minutes, but Rose had a love of her own voice and complaining. He honed his almost animalistic senses and listened for any hints of danger, then he heard it. That horrible laugh! Kain was appalled, could that troublesome woman follow _any_ directions? She couldn't just stand in front of the door and keep watch. She just _had_ to complicate things! He pushed open the door and things became clearer.

"AND _THEN_ HE SAYS . . . !" The rest was washed away in laughter. "But of course! It _is_ awful hard to be a married woman . . . " Kain had the suspicion that she had involved him in her mess. He followed the nonsensical giggles and string of words down a surprisingly crowed hallway that led to a bustling, grand stair well. It was there that he glimpsed the magnitude of people. This wasn't a small party. It seemed all of Maridian, no, all of Nosgoth had been invited and decided to show.

"Sir . . . ?" He was shaken out of his horrified trance by the concerned shaking of this unknown man. "Are you alright, my good sir?"

"Fine." He said gruffly, waving him off. "I was just looking for . . . " He wasn't sure how to classify Rose. A friend? Surely friend wouldn't work, most people don't have the undying temptation to kill their friends. Acquaintance? That would make it sound suspicious, he really didn't want to chance any thing in such a crowd of humans. Fortunately the man required no need for Kain to finish his sentence to be satisfied.

"Ah, well good luck to you sir! I truly pity you for losing them, you may not find them until the party disperses, such a crowd turned up tonight! And by the looks of it, it will go on for hours . . . Happy hunting!" The men tottered off, drank in hand. Kain went back to his gawking, how could he even _begin_ to look for her? He supposed he could keep his perch and search for her out-of-place outfit, but then, he saw about forty (both men and women) people strut in front of him dressed just as flamboyantly. It would be a long night if he adopted that strategy, but then what other choice did he have? Then, he heard it again, that signature laugh. The particular giggle that signified that she had charmed her way into another awkward and embarrassing situation. He shuddered to think what he should find if he followed it back to it'd owner, but follow he must. God only knows what secrets she might reveal if given enough time to talk. He tuned into the crowd to try and track the giggling, luckily, the fates were on his side; it wasn't hard to find.

It seemed she had found a large group of sheep to impress with her charismatic personality. The closer he got the more he could hear, the more he could hear the more appalled he became. He shoved, pushed and slid past and between people, following the noises of jubilation where ever they led; ignoring the advances of drunken women as he went. He finally found her lounging around a fire place, her group of admirers completed a circle, in which she was included. They faced her, their expressions portraying a fondness and (as far as Kain was concerned, undeserving) respect, it seemed they had adopted her as their leader. She was babbling something about wine stains and lazy maids, when they all turned to him in a single motion as if he were an apparent intruder, Rose turned her head and grinned at him.

"Ah! You found me, dear! This is my husband, we were talking about him earlier, remember?" There was an out break of knowing giggling, many of them blushed. Kain didn't like these signs. "Sit down Kain, introduce yourself properly to my new lady-friends!" The women beamed as if they had achieved a great honor. "I've told them a little bit about you and they've been _dying_ to meet you!"

"How much did you tell them?" He asked alarmed.

"Oh, don't worry so! Nothing that you wouldn't like to tell them yourself!" Rose winked. Kain hoped she meant she hadn't told anything that could ruin their mission. He really doubted her common sense. Kain resisted the temptation to growl. "Oh, come now! Sit!" Rose led him by the hand around the furniture and whispering house-wives to a newly opened seat beside her and guided him into it. They now regarded her with jealous admiration, apparently finding Kain to be a handsome man. Kain said nothing and the group discussion continued around him, occasionally he would find himself being stoked like a cat by Rose. Every time this happened he swore to make her life a little bit more mirabel and silently fumed. He didn't want to make a scene, that would only amuse Rose more. From time to time her comments would penetrate his carefully constructed wall that guarded him from the stupidity of it all. Things like:

"I know what you mean, Umah (She's our third child and eldest daughter) got herself caught up with a Sarafan, says she'll marry him. I tell her she's far to young to get married, never mind the fact that the man is twice her age, but she's convinced she's in love with him..." Or:

"Well, our dear uncle Vorador, bless him, he's a nice man; a little senile but..." And especially:

"That's right, we have seven children all together..." While Rose was still in mid-rant, Kain decided he had enough of this.

"Rose... Don't you think it's time we headed home...?" He asked, the words sticking uncomfortably to the sides of his mouth. Rose looked at a large grandfather clock and feigned surprise.

"Why yes! It's long after the children's bed times, you never did get to see them even once today did you? I'm awfully sorry ladies, it was lovely chatting, but I'm afraid I simply must be going, Kain gets cranky if he doesn't see them, he really has a soft spot when it comes to the little ones, wants them to know their father... Goodnight!" The women all called evening greetings and formal goodbyes back to them as the stood to leave. She graciously waved as she walked away as if she were a queen (and by rights, she was.) Kain was not the only one who was happy that he and Rose were on their way, as soon as they stood to leave, the women's husbands swarmed in to claim back their wives from the grips of the odd woman.

As they shut the front door behind them, Kain started his quiet accusations and scoldings. "_You could have jeopardized every thing!"_ He hissed.

"You're a drama queen, has any one ever told you that? Oh, I think some one spilt some shrimp sauce on you." Rose speculated. Kain sighed, she was really wearing down his resistance. He didn't care anymore, he gave up, and stated so.

"I give up Rose, I really do... Where's your short cut lead to next?"

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**Wow, this one's a long one,** **I hope you had the patients** **to read through the entire thing! Anyway, tell me what you think about this! I'm always grateful to reviewers.**


	12. Chapter 12

**Oh, I see. Eh heh heh, so you picked up on _that_ particular detail, did you? You just keep watching my friend, things will change. (Oh and the fact that Kain didn't abandon Rose at the party is because she still had information that he really did need at that point. The clock was ticking and the hours flying by, you know.) But anyway, I haven't updated in a looooooooooooong time! Sorry 'bout that, I really have no excuse, suppose I've been in a kind of a slump lately. . .**

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She held his hand tightly, she didn't want him to go away forever. All the tears in her body had been used up but the sadness wouldn't stop. What did he do so wrong? She looked to her mother, she was stone faced, but she could tell she was repressing sorrow. He was being led by the chains leashed to his shackled hands, and still, she held on to him as if there was still hope. Hope that the verdict would change, that the people would see that what he was doing wasn't wrong, hope that he wasn't about to die.

She was very young, to young to fathom the depth of forever or to comprehend the loss she was about to suffer. She was young, yes, too young to lose her father, her loving, loving father. She adored him, and he her. She couldn't understand most things at her age, but she had the innate ability to know the end of things, that death was coming, the same one all such youth have. She had never seen it, never felt the sting as it took someone close to her, but she knew that this was goodbye.

There was a hand on her shoulder, one that didn't have the same warmth as her father's, didn't have the same caring or gentleness. They were ugly hands to her. Hands that would take him away. They pulled slowly and softly and she rebelled. Hugging close to her father for the last time in her life. They pulled harder and she fought them the best she could with all the strength her little body possessed. In the end, it wasn't enough to hold on to him, she had to let go and the tears she thought had been exhausted were now leaking from her wide, scared eyes. She beat against the man who now held her, the poor excuse for the arms she reached for. He was gone, he had walked through the door never to retrace his steps back to her. She screamed and kicked, unable to understand why they wanted to take him away.

"Shhh-shhh. . ." Her captor cooed. She looked up sadly into his eyes, her uncle's eyes. They conveyed strength to her and she went limp, sobbing into his unfamiliar shoulder. Her mother rose from her seat, her eyes widened and she moved closer to the window, grasping the curtains so hard her knuckles went white. Her face tightened, waiting for the dreaded moment and then fell, it was over. She was the portrait of her daughter's beauty in the future and her daughter a mirror reflecting her own sadness at the very moment.

"God, please forgive me, it's all my fault. . . All my fault. . ." A single perfect tear was released for the occasion and she left her brother and her grief stricken daughter in her husband's cage, abandoning the last of her family to mourn for eternity.

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Umah was being interrogated one last time before she died. She was only as helpful as her final pleasure, keeping her secret a secret. She was at the end of her sad existence once again, she wasn't about to roll over even if she _was_ going to die. She had sworn loyalty to Vorador the first time death came around and she wasn't going to go against that. _Loyalty until the end._ She wasn't going to be another empty promise that filled the countless rooms within the sanctuary.

"We know there are more. Tell us where they are now and they won't suffer." Umah didn't say a word instead, she smiled to herself. Another Sarafan guard took a chain and yanked it, causing a tremor pain to travel throughout her body. She winced, but nothing more. She had become accustomed to it in the short amount of time she had endured it. "I'll ask you again, where are they?" The first guard asked again. Umah gave no response.

"YOU IMPUDENT LITTLE WENCH! I'LL KILL YOU! I-" The second guard started, but he didn't get far, the first one rose his hand into the air and he stopped mid-sentence.

"Do you think to hide your information because you still dare to believe that there is a chance to escape? Is that it? You have no chance, girl. You're going to die and so are they, so why do you drag it out? Why make them suffer latter when they could have a painless-even honorable- death now?" Umah lifted her head and met his eyes.

"They aren't going to die, not one of them. Soon vampires will rule _you_, _hunt_ _you_, _kill you_. Why do I drag it out? I do as my sire asks, and my sire asks that I reveal their location to no one, not even in the most dire of situations, to any one he had not called for." She smiled down on them. "As for escape, don't worry, I haven't thought of escape for hours. I give up! I really do. . ."

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Kain and Rose had managed to survive twelve other sightings since their first encounter at the party. All of which were a considerable amount easier to deal with, there was a clear way _out_ of those buildings. They had reached a cathedral of sorts, it had one tall steeple towering above the already high heights of the main worshiping area. Stain glass windows commemorating Sarafan triumphs and demonizing those whom had been numerous enough so that the Sarafan found themselves at defeat. It was large in width as well as height and was heavily guarded, suspiciously so.

Despite it being -as it appeared to be- a wealthy house of worship, such protection had been unheard of. Surely, no one of _that_ much importance graced it's hall or anything of _that_ much worth could be hidden away, or even displayed in the open! Something was out of the ordinary, something worth investigating. Well, at least Rose thought so, and Kain was disinclined to instigant another tantrum, and since things were going smoothly and it was on the way, why not humor her for a change? Something may go right this time, you never know.

Kain was, for some unfathomable reason, in an _extremely_ good mood. There was a bounce in his step that had appeared from absolutely nowhere. He had no idea why he was so pleased, he felt like a pleasant surprise was around the most unexpected corner; by rights he should be irritated, angry, and flustered. Every thing just felt. . . Right. . .

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Every thing was falling apart, Marcus was a wreck. How did they find him here? It was that damn woman. Who was she? He had found no way into either her's or Kain's mind. He had no idea what they were planning to do, where they were planing to go. . . What's more, he just didn't seem to be able to posses _any_ minds. Not even weak humans, with their mind filled with commerce and dung. He just couldn't do it. He had been trying to for the last half hour and managed to hurt himself in the process. What had that woman done to him?! He wasn't planning to kill her before since she wasn't a vampire and seeing as though she was so endearing. . . But no matter, she would have to go now, she was aiding the enemy.

He had resorted to physical violence, with his greatest ability, sadly, dysfunctional. He was panicked now. Bodies had been found drained of blood. Bodies that flagged Kain's path, a path that led closer and closer to himself. He had become convinced that they had found him out, his location, his state of weakness, his suffering status under the eye of the Sarafan Lord. . .

Ever since Fastus disappeared, many more responsibilities had been given to- or shall we say, _dumped-_ on him. He was under a lot of stress as it was but then _this_ had to happen. At first he was eager to take them on, knowing that Fastus hadn't the hardest of tasks to oversee, but he didn't take into mind what a trouble Kain would actually be! There was no possible way for him to keep up, the world around him -that he was once lord of- was turning against him. He slammed the body of a recently deceased priest into a wall, leaving a streak of blood on the pristine surface.

He was fenced up in a church- his last stronghold, a weak stronghold. He knew it was only a matter of time, when that woman had entered his mind, she left behind a little present. A little hour glass counting down his unavoidable doom. She left it there just to make sure that he was aware of every wasted grain of life. It drove him crazy. He paced to and fro, like a caged loin; discontent and anxious. Every time he heard foot steeps, his heart rushed into a quickened tempo, from which, he never calmed; his heartbeat only growing more rapid.

He couldn't take it, he didn't want Kain- his greatest enemy- to mock his weakness, he didn't want anyone else to take his life, no only he would do. . . No, no one else. . . Something was singing inside his head, cooing with odd serenity at his odd decision. _Yes, you yourself must end it._ Yes he had to, he must. He would die at no one else's hands, no one else's unworthy hands. _End it._ It was funny, the voice sounded familiar, but no matter, he would do it. He had already had his hands on a majestic sword. He unconsciously unsheathed it, revealing it's flawless metallic blade. He happily ran it through himself, effectively destroying both himself and the illusion- his eyes widened, he did know that voice. _Yes, you know my voice, Marcus. Yes you know my voice._ The blade alone was not enough to kill him, he knew that; if that was true, then why could he feel the life being sapped? He looked down at the sword and found it unfamiliar. _How do you like the power that your own lord fears? How do you like the royal power of the Hylden?_ He peered down at himself horrified, what had he done, and why had he done it?


	13. Chapter 13

**Well, here I am again! Is it just me or does the Legacy of Kain page thingy move awfully slow? I mean- I look at others like say, oh, Legend of Zelda, and there seem to be a new set at the top every day! I wonder why that is . . . But I digress, My REAL reason for even including this author's note is to beg for your forgiveness, I've been working on **_**Lord of the Sandbox **_**and updating that a lot more than this one! X( I'm sorry! I really did mean to work on them equally as much and update at the same rate! For compensation, I'll make it good! But, you didn't click on this story to read my rambling (and some of you don't, you skip right to the good parts) you clicked on it to read my story! Anyway- here it is, the next chapter of **_**The Hylden Queen**_

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"Uncle!" She sang in her little titter of a whine. The man of which she was referring to laughed heartily, enjoying her exaggerated annoyance at such a minor inconvenience. He had taken it upon himself to hit his niece in the head with the fuzzy end of a cattail every time she looked away. The day was nice, sunny and bright. The pond was placid and abundant with an assortment of greenery- of which cattails were included.

They were currently sitting in a beautiful little alcove; the water not filling it this time and year, leaving a warm, clear, sandy beach behind. They had set out a blanket and packed a lunch, it was the perfect day for a picnic and they, by far, were not the only ones who noticed. The little beach was thick with Hylden couples that escaped from their duties in her castle to enjoy the day.

"Uncle?" She said more hesitantly then her last protests, encouraged by the sunshine rubbing comfortingly on her back.

"Hmm?" He responded lazily, now reclined on the blanket and picking apart the cattail.

"Wha-why did . . . Why did mommy kill herself?" She stuttered out. Afraid of what her question might provoke. Her uncle sat up, suddenly grave.

"Who told you she killed herself?" He asked barbarously. She looked frightened for a moment and then she just looked sad.

"Nobody." She said quiet and teary eyed.

"Then how did you get such a_ false," _He emphasized this point, roughly and cruelly making Rose wince, "notion in your innocent, little head?"

"I heard some maids talking about it . . . " She said, unconsciously attempting to make herself smaller.

"Which maids?" He said just as callously (if not, more) as his every other remark.

"I don't remember." She whispered, her hands clutching at the hem of her long skirt.Her uncle was quiet, the birds were twittering merrily and distant laughter floated by, unconscious of the tense and uncomfortable atmosphere between the two royal Hylden.

"No sister of mine would kill herself, do you understand me, Rose? Your mother was murdered! Her vile, half-breed assistant put poison in her wine." He turned to her, his face screwed-up by a rage she didn't understand. She stared wide-eyed into his and let lose a timid whimper. "I expect an answer when I ask a question, do you need me to repeat myself?" His voice increased in volume. She shook her head quickly and whimpered again.

"I understand Uncle . . . " She said, on the edge of being inaudible.

"Good." He said gruffly. "Get back to the palace. It's time for your lessons to start." It was a good two hours before her lessons were scheduled to start that day, but she wasn't about to correct him.

"Yes, Uncle." She said and scurried away, tears sprinkling the grass and the happy families as she ran.

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Kain was in high spirits, oblivious to the quickly darkening mood of Rose. But, then, he wouldn't care what mood she was in even if he did notice. His every kill was punctuated by a smile-less giggle that was borderline maniacal. He hadn't felt this good in _years. _It was as if he had just said goodbye to a life long illness. Rose on the other hand, was not as cheerful. They didn't need to be very careful, the _inside,_ wasn't -by far - as well guarded as the outside. The only way to get caught would be to dance the conga in front of the guard and sing along with it, and anyone who _did_ see them in a compromising light was cornered and killed with ease. It seemed all the well-trained guards were left out sides. Apparently whoever stationed them there were more concerned with keeping people out then ridding themselves of intruders. Indeed, if you walked through the halls with the air of purpose, none questioned you at all. Those who ordered this arrangement were either very, very confident or very, very stupid.

And that was what concerned Rose. She didn't need Kain to kill a witless shell who was without even the will to live. She needed Kain to get stronger. Her every fiber depended on his getting stronger, but contemplating your impending demise would get you nowhere; something, no matter how weak, was better than nothing, she supposed. Rose's spirits were in stark contrasts to Kain's, just like everything else about them. Yes, she had noticed how she had gotten on Kain's nerve, even when she wasn't trying. She knew from the second they met that they were almost complete opposites, it would have bothered her in millennia past, but only her wayward people truly irked her now. Not torture, not the grime and filth that accompanied politics, and certainly not Kain.

As they went their merry little way, Kain seemed to settle down and come down from the temporary high that could only be assumed originated from the same source that troubled Rose. It was only natural that Kain ignore her completely, and Kain did just that. He barely held the door open for her, preferring to let it slam shut on her face. Rose almost preferred it that way, be it that (for once) Rose had nothing to say to him, she preferred to linger in the oddly brought on deja-vu-like nostalgia. The air was thick with something, something_ familiar_... It was from a distant thought lost to time, one nestled deep in forbidden memory albeit, but she could swear her life on it. She knew this thickness, almost a residue on the varying surfaces. Like dust, like _him_. Suddenly, she was shocked from her daydreaming, struck by a stray thought.

Dare she believe it? She knew she had felt this before! It was the blessed power, her families' power, her power. But there were only two people remaining who were endowed with such talent. She was one and she could see no possible benefit for the other to cast this spell... Ideas and theories seemed to have it out for her today, because this was the second time one had slapped her in the face. There were only two people left who were _born_ with this talent. She was stunned by her own thick-wittedness. Why was it that she assumed that none of them survived? She had been accompanied by a few loyal servants, each of which, she gave a fraction of her power to and set free. It had been in an all to common "glass half empty" moment that she had assessed their situation and decided them doomed. Why was it that she never regained faith? There were at least twenty of them there all given extraordinary strength... One of them had survived! Some of her kin were alive and awaiting her emergence from hell it's self! But... Why did they need to cast the death spell... ?


	14. Chapter 14

**Hello again! This chapter is . . . well, the next chapter! This chapter isn't going to start off with a tid-bit from Rose's past if anybody cares. Enjoy!**

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Kain had noted as they traveled thru, that Rose wasn't her normal obnoxious self, he had convinced himself that he enjoyed her quiet, but it was all only an illusion. It wasn't that he missed her constant talk, on the contrary he was rather glad to be rid of it! But this quiet . . . There was something unnatural about it, something eerie. He wasn't left to his own thoughts about his own problems- but left to worry about what it was that Rose saw in the stone facade of this awful place that made her stop talking. The quiet made him second guess why it was so damned _easy_ for him to get thru.

He walked without concern, his and his company's foot steps echoing loudly off of high cathedral walls. No one stopped, no one even took a second glance in their direction. It wasn't a relaxed saunter with which he saw the armored patrols move with now. It was a depressed and terrified scuttle. He mentally cursed at Rose, he was paranoid now and it was all her fault. Hadn't she anything to say? He supposed not and contented himself with slamming doors on her face.

As they moved on however, he noticed something odd. Well, something even more odd than a reserved Rose. He had never felt anything like it before, it made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end- but at the same time flattened them out. The air had become almost tangible, and alive with nearly visible activity. At first it was just a tingle, an uncomfortable tinge- then it became more. It became like little knives slowly and lightly scraping off his skin, one layer at a time. The kind of sensation you might expect from being shut in a guillotine, the blade poised and ready to pounce on your exposed neck. And then they had -with absolutely no effort whatsoever- made it to the end of their road.

Kain had no proof that what they sought was behind _this_ door of all of them, but he knew. He could _feel _it. The feeling of his stomach being pulled apart and his insides twisting and knotting told him so. He looked at Rose, her face alike to ones whose nose had landed its self in a freshly laid pile of droppings. Seeing her with such an expression almost made up for _his_ situation . . . Almost. It felt as though his liver was being rung out. He clenched his hands. Rose opened the door and the feeling he had before paled in comparison to this new one.

He had been to the most vicious slaughter houses, visited the most grotesque vampiric "garbage dumps," and waded through the decay of rotting bodies; but he had never been _this_ disgusted. He was on the verge of being sick. What was it? He wondered. The furniture in his surroundings being ill furbished and an abundance of clutter, admittedly, was the only thing he could see physically wrong; but he seriously doubted that the decor was what was making him sick. It was as if the air its self had malicious, harmful intent, the sickening agent was nearly _scented_. And worst of all, it left a bad taste in his mouth.

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Rose's eye twitched, the bad far outweighed the good possibilities in this situation. There were a few hypotheses that Rose could think of now that the initial excitement had worn off. Though she would like to believe that the reasons were fully justifiable, her mind was full of unusual little 'what if' scenarios.

What if they had cast the spell on themselves? What if they just went crazy? What if they couldn't control the power? What if their gift was stolen from them and now it was being used by the other side? What if there were more than one survivor and now they were fighting amongst one another? What if her servants weren't as trust worthy as she had originally thought? What if she would have to kill one of them herself?

She was surprised at herself for the sudden sting she felt as the last thought flitted through her mind. She had rather thought she was well used to the idea of killing her own, after all, there were millions of fellow, loyal inmates she rid herself of without a second thought. But, no, this was different. There was something clinging to her heart that didn't want to be rid of those whom she still thought of as her friends- despite their insanity. Perhaps that was what love was? An unwillingness to let go, the one step after obsession...

She slapped herself mentally. It was not like herself to ponder the more complex emotions- like love. She really had to wonder where all these nonsensical thoughts were coming from... She gave herself another, more harsh mental slap. (More like a punch, really.) It _was_ like herself to contemplate complex emotion! The real question was, where were these _somber_ thoughts coming from?

There was no time to mull over a sudden change in demeanor, she would save that for the long way back to the Cabal- here and now was reserved for more and more pressing concerns of what lie behind the next door.

They had come to a stop in front of an ornate entree, likely leading to some resting quarters or an office for one of the more powerful of permanent residents. This door was so thick with her ancient majic it almost glowed. The sensation of death was so strong it made her nose burn from breathing it in. In fact, for a scant minute she actually caught herself stop breathing. The oder was overpowering, to say the least. She glanced at Kain, his face akin to an engaged gorilla. He really was scary sometimes... She repressed the urge to giggle madly like a little girl and lifted her hand, _some one _had to open it!

The door swung open easily, no lock marred their way in. The next chamber was large, or it would be if it wasn't so full. There seemed to be oversized (and over stuffed) furniture everywhere to create a small and cramped environment. The chairs were bulky and numerous, the one identifiable love-seat appeared to be a pile of decorative pillows rather than a love-seat at all, the king sized bed was fit to burst with blankets and other comforts; what was stable and flat was covered entirely by oddities. The one small coffee table (sitting in front of the love seat) was piled with a five inch layer of documents and letters, the night stand strewn with all assortments of talismans and religious artifacts, the top of a short dresser was made up entirely of framed pictures yet to be hung. All of this would have been comfortable (even if it was a tight fit) were it weren't for the body emanating the horrible magic and seemingly taking up all the empty space.

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Kain took a moment to struggle with both the temptation to exit the room immediately and the temptation to vomit, finding it difficult to suppress both at once. He managed to conquer these enticements, however, and opened his eyes to what was really in the room. There was much more then the necessities here, the owner appeared to have possessed packrat-like tendencies. The room looked as though down to every last interesting button had been kept and hoarded away. The thought of a button hoard amused Kain for a second before his eyes wandered to the body sprawled out on the floor.

As his eye met this sight, his stomach gave a sudden lurch as that terrible sensation washed over him anew. It wasn't the body in it's self that was disgusting, not the drying and coagulating blood that was everywhere, but that infernal _stench_ seemed to originate from the withered shell. He stepped forward and rolled the body over with his foot so that he could see the face, much to the protests of his rebellious innards.

He gulped down the entire sight all in one go, letting his mind sort out what was important and what was not. His thoughts traversed the wound and still-in-place weapon, a gaping whole in the torso made by (but only gods knows what enlarged by) an extravagantly decorated sword. The wound was curiously large and the blood spatter was curiously drenching. _And that blade was curiously revolting!_ He thought to himself, reeling at the sight of it. But his mind carried on, processing an even more concerning fact. He gasped soundlessly as the final revelation was made.

_This was Sebastian!_ That face was mangled to be sure, but with out a doubt, it was him. He was expecting killing him himself, but lo! They find him already dead! Kain couldn't help but feel cheated. He had wanted nothing more that to be the deliverer of this man's brutal demise. The lucky bastard who had gotten to him first... A deep, involuntary growl escaped his throat, his organs' last warning that they were going to forcefully erupt from his belly were he to stay even a minute longer. He took the hint.

Kain grabbed Rose by the arm, pulling her away from the accursed blade that she had suddenly and randomly become enamored with and, instead of retracing his steps, opted to fashioned a new way in (and in his case, out) of the room by means of one giant burst of energy. Though the room had large and opulent windows (draped with lavish, heavy, dark colored velvet curtains) overlooking a spectacularly lush garden, Kain had rather fancied to blow a hole out of the _other _side of the room instead. In short, passing over breaking glass to punching through solid stone wall. Oddly enough, he seemed to have the energy to get thru and make a nice sized opening, manny nods at his superior vampire strength.

Before Rose's indignant squawking even had the chance to reach Kain's ears, they were thru two other walls, employing the same strength to get through those as was used on the first. And they continued on like that until the inevitably happened, some one noticed that not all was well. And it didn't help at all that they literally came bursting out in front of him.

He was an elderly man, Kain would have hazzard a guess of around the age of eighty or so, he appeared to be quite surprised but even in his alarm had an air about him that suggested he was a more docile creature. Even so, Kain took him as a threat, having become suspicious indeed of apparently docile old men as dictated by past sufferings. The man gaped at them for a moment or two (all the while Rose struggling to keep Kain from killing him) and then peered down the their path of destruction and grimaced.

"When Vorador said I would be encountering some of his friends," said the man in clear shock. "This is not _at all _how I imagined I would do the encountering..." Kain stopped struggling against Rose, Rose stopped trying to pin him down. They glanced at one another, the bewildered arc of both of their eyebrows mirroring the other's to an exact. This was not at all what they were imagining either...

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Fin. That one took much longer to write than it should have, I donno why. It just seemed to go that way... Any way, please leave a review!


	15. Chapter 15

**My usual greetings apply to this space, as par the norm. Hello, and hello again! This chapter starts up with another blast from Rose's past. I can't help my self... I've been considering doing another story within the realm of the Hylden Queen, I know I'm a little ahead of myself- not even close to being done with this one- but I would like to know what you all think based on the ways things have been going. Would it probably be a good idea? Would it probably not? It would, in all likelihood, have to do a lot with Rose, just for a heads up- other wise it wouldn't be in the Hylden Queen realm! It'd either just be a retelling or an odd, kinda pointless story... Any who, I've become a proud member of the Renegade boards, my name is Lady Fate... Or rather LadyFate, they don't like spaces in the names there for some reason. **

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Rose looked up into her face gleefully, her still pudgy hands reaching in wonderment to touch her chin. The woman looked down at her daughter and grinned another toothy grin. Rose admired the glinting jewels that had so recently been applied.

Crushed rubies lined the edges of her flat teeth, a solid line of red, and all of her bottom teeth below that line were inlayed intricately with gold. Only four were so delicately decorated on the top row, four that were unseen but for when she either snarled or smiled as she did for her youngest child. The effect was dazzling, giving the impression that she was breathing fire.

"Mamma," Rose whispered in excitement. "Mamma, I'll breath golden fire someday too, won't I?" The five-year-old girl gazed with greedy anticipation at the glittering incisors.

"My dear Rosie," said her mother firmly and her grin was replaced with a frown having taken notice of that greed. "This is not just for ornament, this is not merely an aesthetic addition, it is a symbol of might."

"A symbol of might?" Rose repeated, intrigued.

"Indeed," her mother confirmed. "A symbol of might. It represents the scorching fire of hell. Long ago, our people believed that their monarch could spit such tortures from their mouths at any who angered them." She nodded her head unconsciously as she paused and Rose was quick to mimic. "So now these decorations, these symbols, are engraved in each new king or queen so as the power to spit hell in the faces of our enemies is passed on..."

"Oh." Said Rose flatly even though her face was a mixture of amusement and exhilaration, mind already imagining the effects on her tongue of burning saliva.

"But, no." The woman continued breaking imagination's spell on her daughter. "No, my sweet child, you won't breath golden fire." Rose's face became solemn so quickly one would not have even seen the transition from jubilation, but she offered up no complaints for her mother was speaking again.

"That right goes to Orell, for Orell is the eldest." The last came out as a disappointed sigh.

"Why does only the oldest one get to have it?" Asked Rose indignantly.

"Because, my darling, only the heir to the throne can have this noble insignia blazed into their smile." Rose's mother said with a note of sad finality.

Rose found this entirely unfair, she still did not understand. Why was _she_ not the heir to the throne instead of her brother? Because he was born before her? But why was that? Why couldn't the second, or third, or fourth, or fifth be heir? Rose dare not ask her mother for she was already standing to go, and besides, it would not do to anger the new queen so early in her reign...

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Kain was aghast and slightly offended. Did Vorador dislike him enough to place his trust in Rose but leave _him_ in the dark about this essential informant? Kain scarcely noticed his surroundings at all in his musings of why that was wrong for so many reasons.

"Who are you?" Asked Rose in a steely voice, her eyes transformed into green slits, clearly displaying her misgivings.

This reaction surprised Kain greatly, it had been his impression that Rose had always been two steps ahead. He had thought that she and Vorador were in correspondence, but apparently Vorador had kept his wits about him when talking with Rose about his informants... Or, at least, he had forgotten to mention this particular one. The old man looked surprised but then understanding.

"Forgive me," he said sympathetically. "I forgot that the ways of Vorador were as forgetful as mine..." He nodded wisely and chuckled kindly even as Rose's eyes bor lacerations into his flesh. "My name is Bishop Longe. Vorador informed me that you would be requiring information on the Sarafan stronghold... It must have slipped his mind to tell you to look out for me." He smiled at the pair of them with the air of addressing children even though he must have know that the beings that stood befuddled before him must be centuries and centuries his superiors when it came to age and experience, even if they didn't look it.

Kain was becoming more and more uncomfortable with the situation, somewhere in the back of his mind, it was ingrained through many years of hate not to trust kindly old men. He did not make exceptions for this one because he claimed to know, and be trusted by, Vorador. Vorador's judgment was questionable, he trusted Rose to the fullest after all. But what was to be done? If the old man gave faulty information, Kain knew where to find him and would deal punishment accordingly. Kain's eyes became slits to match Rose's as his manner became even more impersonal and business-like.

"Information." He grunted, not bothering to string together a coherent sentence. Bishop Longe seemed to understand, apparently used to monosyllable conversations.

"Yes..." The bishop paused, only just now becoming uncomfortable with Rose's savage glare. "We, fellow cabal members and I," This last point he whispered. "Have been guarding a secrete passage way into the Sarafan stronghold for many years now..."

"Where?" Kain growled. Not bothering with coherency again.

"Oh, yes. Follow me." The man replied, his voice almost faltering. As the man move forwards, Kain was inexplicably torn to the other direction, _back towards that stench!_

"Wait!" Rose cried to Bishop Longe, for he had not noticed that they were not following.

He looked back and blinked at them. Rose hopped from foot to foot in an agitated state and then dashed backed thru the rubble strewn path they had created. Kain watched her with concerned fascination as she drew nearer to the body and, in one swift and robotic motion, pulled the sword out of it. Upon this act, she wasted only a moment to resume her peculiar little dance, and then promptly hurled the thing out the very same window they had so unwittingly avoided in their frantic attempts to flee the room.

All was silent and still for half a minute and then the absurdity of Rose came back to Kain in a rush. _Of corse _Rose would do something so stupid! Was it not in her greater nature to cause obstruction and waste time? She had been so compliant that he had fooled himself into thinking that she had the capacity in that childish mind of hers to see something as anything other than a game for her amusement! And Kain, but only for hair of time, had the urge to laugh at it all.

Kain, who had a sudden and violent change of attitude, was now livid, and not afraid to show it.

"Wha...?!" He started out in a fit of rage, but never did he get the chance to complete that sentence, truly, he hardly had the time to think it all out.

"He's still alive!" She shouted frantically.

Kain was now angry _and_ confused. A potentially lethal combination.

"What," he started off in his most dangerous growl. "Nonsense are you _blithering_ about now?" All of his unrealized, suppressed, and minor annoyances were now catching up to him and adding to the flame of anger consuming his brain, making it burn even hotter.

"Come!" Rose ordered. "Come! Come see! _Come!_" She motioned with her hand excitedly as if miming out pulling imaginary chains that led to him and, oddly enough, he felt compelled to let her haul him there. In the light of his own furious self-examination, he noticed that there was indeed a chain.

It was not a physical chain, no, but if you looked _just_ right _this_ way you could visualize its unnatural blue-ish glow... And it was not to anchored to just _he_, it was not there for others to lead him as they pleased, it was there to hold two souls adjacent. The other end, he could only just make out the thick collar that was clasped snugly around her neck, was tethered to Rose.

He eyed it with all the curiosity of an infant first discovering his own hands. His feet moved steadily without the mind's direction, avoiding debris deftly even as Kain himself was not aware of it. And there (he could only make out the shadow of it but it was there none the less) a whisper moved along it, skipping and slithering along the links until it reached him. He heard it. He _felt_ it in his very soul. That whisper that was clearly in Rose's slightly teasing voice saying; _"come!"._ And Kain came.

Kain was now standing next to Rose with the most peculiar sensation he had ever been subjected to. His rage had thinned by the peculiar discovery and the only thing to bring him to the present was Rose's insistence that Marcus lived yet.

He peered down at the body, and it appeared quite dead. If he was, indeed, alive, the large gaping wound would at least _attempting_ to heal. But it was as large and as gaping as it was the first time he observed it. Rose was placing her hands delicately in the man's chest and giving a eccentric sort of grimace- like a half smile and half snarl.

"Here!" She was saying. "Here! I feel it! His heart beats!"

Kain placed two fingers on Marcus's neck, feeling for a pulse. To his great surprise, he felt it.

"Yes!" She was saying excitedly. "He _lives!_" She bounced like a proud child on the balls of her feet, still in a crouched position she had assumed in order to touch the body.

Kain caulked an eyebrow and looked down at the body before him and it was clear to him what Rose wanted him to do. In one swift and unceremonious motion, kain killed Marcus. Then, peculiar happenings liked to come in pairs of late it seemed, Marcus started to glow with a pulsating light, at its brightest where Kain had brought his claw across his neck. And, when it appeared that nothing more odd could possibly occur, something more odd occurred. The yellow light which Marcus had been emanating started to gush forth from his final wound and drift at Kain. He took this light for his own, and it felt wonderful.

Power, that was what it was. Marcus's power. Kain felt the ability familiarize its self with Kain's welcoming skin, and a new awareness was opened. He could see into the minds of the weak creatures all around him, he could _feel_ the presence of the their thoughts; or lack-there-of. On that note he remembered Bishop Longe.

"I thought," said Kain poisonously. "That you had something to show us." Rose grinned from ear to ear.

"Oh," Said Bishop Longe surprised. "Yes, please, if you are done, follow me..." And Kain and Rose followed, the good bishop not daring to break the silence...

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Yay! Got thru another one! This one felt like it took forever to write! Is it longer that usual?


	16. Chapter 16

**I am currently working exclusively on THIS fan-fiction on account of me only having ideas for this one lately. (And the fact that Turn-Based-Tragedy kinda ran out of steam a little...) I still don't seem to be putting out chapters any quicker though...**

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Kain and Rose were happily working together to further terrorize Bishop Longe. They had worked out a system involving electric shock and momentary possessed of his mind, but that was beside the point. Kain had _finally _found the reason why he was thinking such _strange_ thoughts and was content to terrify the holy man. But then, he was also quite content with blaming Rose for anything and everything that came up. He had been doing exactly that for some time now, and Rose was so distracted by the happy and exquisite anguish she and Kain had been bringing down upon the poor human, that she was in no fit state to contradict.

Some may not think Kain would appreciate that Rose was torturing their guide; that Rose was annoying, tormenting, frightening, pestering, deranging, and distracting their guide, but Kain had long since accepted that the Rose's sole purpose on this earth was to pester and was happy that she was happy with the good bishop. Kain was even happy to join in! To wrought the look of pure agony and pure suffering that was on Bishop Longe's face was a pleasure that he could rarely enjoy these days... But then, maybe that was just Rose's influences again.

Kain was quite certain that Rose knew nothing of this link, otherwise she would have taken full advantage from the start. He certainly thought (although not too loudly, Rose may get the gist of what he was thinking) it an effective tool for _his _use, and as soon as he found out how to use it, it's use would be in his employment indeed. He should also like to know how to sever ties with Rose should she ever find out about it. Even with the slight chance that she already knew about it, he did not like the prospect of losing that control over her, the pulling she had done before (although performed expertly) must have been soundly accidental. Somewhere in the back of Kain's mind, Kain knew that Rose knew in the back of her's- but he wasn't going to drag it out for her, so Rose may never _truly_ know... At least not enough to start experimenting how best to trip him with it or the sort, as well he knew she would.

Kain had not the opportunity to try it out for himself, but was _not_ going to try it with this human ever present...

Bishop Longe was leading them down a surprisingly well constructed, well lit, and roomy tunnel. Kain supposed the man spoke true when he said he had worked for many years. The air was fresh and there was little to be ill at ease about, even as they heard carts rumble by, the large, sturdy support beams were expertly placed and made not even the hint of a squeak. The silence and the warm lighting seemed to whisper _"all is well_" comfortingly as they strode down into it's very depths- although it was of no consequence to Bishop Longe at the moment, all the whispers in the world couldn't stop him from jumping at every shadow.

Amusement rippled through him, becoming a maniacal giggle in the back of his throat. He wasn't sure where it had originated, but of that he was unconcerned, causing pain was the one trait they shared and enjoyed. Kain must admit, when they were united in one cause, the results were usually beautifully executed.

Kain was just getting back into making an ass of himself (as was the norm) when, most unfortunately, they came to the end of their road. The bishop turned to them with relief in his weathered eyes.

"This is as far as I can take you, no human can make the next passage without detection, and not even I have authority to be there. You- with your superior senses and abilities- must make it on your own from here on out." And with that, he left, scurrying back down the tunnel, not looking back even once. An anticlimactic exit, if there ever was one, Kain mused to himself. He tore his gaze away from the frantically retreating Bishop and refocused it on the path ahead. He was not surprised to see the hugely armored Sarafan milling about everywhere, all gathered in a pit of sort.

Kain had an overview of what appeared to be the largest peaceful congregation of gorillas the world had yet seen. By their actions and loud conversation matter, Kain had gathered that the Sarafan Lord seemed only to value numbers and muscle, not intellect. Strategies and statistics filled his brain.

What were the advantages to fighting? What were the disadvantages? What would be future complications? Was this a commonly used room? Where were the best shadows to creep along? Were they equipt with short-ranged vampiric detection? Were they well trained? What was the best corse of action?

_I wouldn't try to take them, too risky. It appears to be sleeping quarters of sorts, so it'd be used often and we can't afford to try and hide all of the bodies. Not to mention, it would look awful suspicious should such a large number of guards not show up at their posts._

Kain quite agreed, it would be foolish to try to kill them.

_Best corse of action would be to edge along those rafters up there, out of the way, ill lit and all..._

Yes, but how get there without detection?

_That is a problem... Why not try a little possession? Create a little panic..._

He could try but it would still be tricky to...

Kain's eyes widened, his mouth went embarrassingly slack. Was he just using the whisper? But... How? For one millionth of a second, Kain's mind was hopeful that it had been Umah, but the chill of reality seeped through such a feeble fortification quickly. He had been whispering Rose, and Rose had been whispering back... But with _Rose_ of all people! Rose wasn't even a vampire! She was a hylden! His head whipped around of it's own accord so that his eyes met hers. She grinned mischievously at him but then quickly sobered, as the mass of guards was moving. What was better, they were moving out. Soon, but a handful were left.

Rose made as if to move (and kain could already tell) to kill the remainders but Kain held out his hand to still her. He would use cation and tact in the house of his enemy- no matter how few or plentiful the guard was. He would try Rose's suggestion, it'd be easier to get to the rafters now that there weren't so manny eyes. He closed his own eyes and willed himself into another's mind.

It was an odd sensation, though, not unpleasant. It was like being too close to some one in a bed that was too small, cramped but cozy. It wasn't hard either, especially with this poor excuse of anything. He had found more intelligence in Musca domestica, the housefly. Sad though it was. He shuffled thru the contents (what few there were) and found the "controls" and moved him forward. Nothing dramatic, nothing to alarm the others- yet. No, the drama wouldn't be started by him, the sarafan's cries of shock and panic would be the bait. A panicking man with a sword uses it, and uses it without discrimination of who it hits. Kain had no reason to worry when the other sarafan were attempting to calm their friend down... Or kill him. Which ever, the focus would be on only the crazed man and _then_ would be when they could move without being noticed.

Kain pulled out of the man's mind, with the desired effects.

Kain and Rose did not stay to find out if the other guards got to the point of killing the one Kain had possessed, they made short work of exiting the room. What they did wait for, though, was the mass that had exited earlier to pick up the pace. The excessive armor weighed them down and made them slow. It also didn't help that they seemed to be taking their time. They were slow and powerful; did the sarafan lord not know that it was only speed that could help the human save themselves from a vampire? No matter how strong a human was, they were always weaker than a vampire. Due to the sheer bulk of bulk, Kain figured he didn't know, or didn't care. What was one more human life, after all.

Kain was suddenly aware of the approaching dawn. He could feel it like one feels another hovering over his shoulder. He hadn't felt that since he was a fledgling, it was breathing down his neck, speaking of loss. In days gone by, it was loss of power... He hadn't a need for fearing for his power– he wasn't so young anymore– so why was the mornings now so malevolent?

Kain could feel Rose bristle beside him. Did she feel it too? He must have sent it along to her his feeling of... Dread? Was that it? Was this the first thing he truly feared in an upward of three hundred years? The edges of Kain's lips twitched upwards, almost a sneer. Three hundred years and ten thousand enemies– and he was afraid of the morning. Rose sat blinking beside him, trying to catch up with the fear inside her heart he supposed. She leaned into him and whispered:

"Is it just me...? Or do they _stink_?" Kain almost laughed. He was expecting her to speak of unfounded fears or sudden chills or a connection of souls. He was on the verge of saying something about gorillas, but no, no. Mustn't encourage her.

"Yes, Rose," he breathed back. "They do stink." Then he hesitated. Should they go? Dare they risk it? As he had sat contemplating dawn, most of the guards had shuffled around a corner. _Most_ of them. There were six, no seven (funny how they were able to hide in one-another's bulk)of them just lingering in the hall. God only knew what kept them... Was that one having a– And how do you put this– A wardrobe malfunction? Did it really take six people to get one person into armor? And what help would that do for them if they were attacked unexpectedly? Kain shook his head at the foolishness of the Sarafan. But, their mistake, not his.

"Let's go." He finally decided. His movements were silent, unimpeded by skirts and shoes like Rose was– She made next to no noise. Kain wasn't going to bother to make sure he wasn't breathing, there would be no point with all the racket of the Sarafans down the hall. Hell, Kain was sure nothing short of a stampede of wild horses galloping, unchecked, down the way at them from both ends could capture their attention... But he was not in a carefree mood, he knew he must keep cautious, that no matter how stupid they look, this one may not be as slow.

He crept along the shadows, Rose at his heals, and as he predicted, they did not notice. Kain was almost surprised that nothing had gone wrong yet. Rose hadn't even offered to mess things up! Which Kain now knew, she was planning to destroy some plan or another in the near future. But foe now, it was a convenience. No use fretting over something yet to happen. He reached the door that the Sarafans had so stupidly turned their backs to, and managed to slip through it without getting tripped by Rose in the process. There, what he saw enraged him more than any taunting Rose could offer.

They were in a large room, a grand stair case with wide, short steps led around a fountain lazily spitting water in a small jet straight upwards. All around the tall ornate walls were tall ornate tapestries depicting the devilry of vampires and the triumphs of the humans who destroyed them. They all told a story, beginning at the bottom of the stairs and ending at the mural at the top, and the mural at the top was what angered him the most.

At the top of the stairs, the entire wall was dedicated to one scene, his demise. There was the Sarafan Lord, hansom and pure, and there he was, pale and face almost comically distorted in fear as he began his decent off a cliff. If the Sarafan Lord had put it there just as a taunt, than it was working. Kain's blood was boiling at a temperature no single being should be able to endure. He felt Rose stiffen beside him, probably feeling the same rage, seeing the same stars erupt behind her eyes. He knew that if there were any bond at all, she would be feeling it; Something this strong does not go unnoticed. He glanced at her, and just by one look, he could tell that he was better at hiding his feelings than she.

Her face, once aglow with an eternal beauty, was now twisted into a spiteful grimace, her complection pink with rage. She clenched and unclenched her hands into fists, drawing blood where her fingernails cut into her hand. Her jaw grinding her teeth into dust. Her eyes, once sparkling with teasing endeavors, now dulled over with the want to kill. He looked at his own fists, white knuckled and shivering with the effort to tighten, perhaps he wasn't better at it after all... Rose took a shaky step forwards, and Kain followed her lead. She was headed straight for the mural because, by some cruel prank of either god or mortal design, the door they most go through was at the Sarafan Lord's feet.

By what ever deity holds power, the next living thing they would encounter should pray for a quick death, for death was assuredly coming because Kain and Rose were angry.


	17. Chapter 17

**Whoo! This chapter we **_**finally**_** get to Umah! (Poor Umah, I have her just waiting around for death, unaware that Rose and Kain are bickering their way to her rescue.)****And am I glad of it. I tried to get her into the last chapter, I tried so hard, but she just didn't want to go into it. Ah, well, we're there now, and– BUM, BUM, BUUUUUM!– We meet the Sarafan Lord face to face for the first time in the next chapter!!!!!!!!! (It really wasn't all that dramatic in the game, was it?) How will he react to Umah being lose?! How will he react to Kain being alive?! How will he react to Rose in general!? (And on another note, how will Rose react to him? Please tell me; I really don't know.) All that and more in this upcoming chapter! Ahem, I'm done now . . . P.s. Sorry if the opening lil' thing is kinda dry, but it does have some important things that sorta put gears (in your head) into motion . . . ****I think.**

_f.y.i most of that name stuff is kinda unnecessary, you know, the list of the deceased it kinda just rambles on and on and on... So, feel free to skip it._

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**Royal Family Attacked . . . **

**... And Massacre Ensues!**

_The newly crowned queen, her husband (the king), their children, and her brother (Prince Doewell) and his wife and seven children went out for a picnic with the family in order to celebrate the arrival of royal families' newest addition (Princess Lilly) yesterday afternoon when they were brutally attacked by a small gathering of militia men, numbering about twenty. The king and queen and queen's brother are, reportedly, unharmed, but all three are grieving greatly for the loss of their children (and also for the beloved wife of Prince Doewell). All of the royal children and guards present were killed on sight, wether it was by glyph magic or being stabbed to death by one of the militia men. A list of the deceased goes as follows: _

_(As born of her majesty, the queen) Prince Orell Lamure, Prince Navien Lamure, Prince Davien Lamure, Princess Umeli Lamure, Princess Candid Lamure, Prince Bernard Lamure, Princess Mayania Lamure, Prince Warren Lamure, Prince Azren Lamure, Prince Lester Lamure, Prince Wren Lamure, Prince Adian Lamure, Princess Lilly Lanure– the princesses Rose, Daisy, and Orchid had remained at home due to continuing severe illness– (as born of Lady Serine Kaeyon, wife of Prince Doewell Kaeyon) Lady Laurena Kaeyon, Lady Katydid Kaeyon, Lady Machi Kaeyon, Mister Conell Kaeyon, Lady Wade Kaeyon, Lady Quiescent Kaeyon, Lady Tear Kaeyon, and their gracious mother, Lady Serine Kaeyon (of the brave and mighty royal guard) Sir Breston Baker Warrington, Mister Adom Landur, Mister Kiel Casity, Mister Lude Nelson, Mister Jason Jastem, Mister Awatem Borrell, and mister Consent Vicente. It is also noted that fourteen of the fifteen aggressors that were felled are yet unnamed, if you are missing a loved-one and suspect that they were involved, the royal family is most aggrieved and is holding the bodies; should you claim your loved-one, you will not be held responsible for their actions and your's, and your family's record will be considered clean of this offence: The know aggressors; Amax Bronel. Forty-two deaths, total._

_The presence of Glyph magic points to one of the royal family as the leader of the militia men, a few unnamed inhabitants of the royal palace have openly named Prince Chistine Kaeyon– the only child from the first wife of the late King Secrety of Kaeyon, and named unfit to be the successor to the throne due to his mother being of a people other than the Hylden race – as the mutinous royal family member in the short amount of time since the tragedy occurred. The prince and his vampire wife, Halliana, have since gone missing, and Prince Doewell has ordered his arrest upon sight. There have been no arrests thus far, and anyone with information regarding the identity of the few still living militia men involved are urged to reveal their information to the authority immediately. _

Prince Doewell threw the newspaper aside, that had been yesterday, and what did this morning bring? More tragedy. Two of the three of his very sick nieces, the last of the children, had just died. The article said they grieved, they did not; there had been no time to grieve. When they got back to the palace after the attack, they still had had Orell, Candid, and Katydid, but only just. After the older of the children had survived the glyph magic, the men with swords had come to cut them down. And they did; they cut down Navien and Davien and Umeli and Bernard and Laurena and Machi and Conwell and Wade. First they sent a wave of death, took out the weak, the young, then they came with swords . . .

Orwell and Candid and Katydid bled to death, his children and kin dying in their very beds, in more physical pain each passing moment, pain because they had hoped to save them . . . No, there was still no time to grieve. As fate would have it, as a cruel god would have it, the condition of his three young nieces worsened as _they_ had slaughtered the other children. Now Daisy and Orchid were dead too. His heart yearned for his children back, yearned for his wife back, yearned for his sister's children back. He loved his sister's children like they were his own, they were his family. Now, only one left. Only one. He had no hope for her, though he prayed for one. No, he prayed no longer to such an unfeeling god, he would not pray, he_ wished_ with all his heart that she did have one. He squeezed his eyes shut, tight enough that it hurt, head turned toward the small window that let in much of the sweet early-morning light despite its size. He let out a small breath and forced himself to watch death shatter his heart once more, but what he saw when he turned around wasn't death, it was a miracle.

Rose, who had been in a fit, on the verge of death, was sitting up, unaided. They were alone together (Prince Doewell had shooed away all of the servants for a private death, her mother and father were resting after holding her trembling and sweating hands all night.). He merely stared at her in disbelief, the bombardment of sadness from the other day refusing to let this small cause for joy take to his mind.

"Uncle?" She said in a small, clear voice, looking up into his green eyes as if this were any other normal day. She waited a beat but didn't seem to be looking for a response, for she continued without prompt or answer. "I know the answer to Azren's riddle now, it's the ocean . . . "

"Guard!" He shouted abruptly, the tears, the pain, the happiness, all coming out in the same rushing manor. "Guard! Fetch your king and queen! Your princess wakes! Rose lives! Rose is well!" and then he ran at her madly, emotion commissioned, and through his arms around her small body, fragile from sickness and youth, hugging her for all it was worth. Rose put her arms around him, patiently easing his pain and solidifying his felicity, saying nothing as the great sobs from her uncle shook them both in irregular waves.

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"Excuse me sir! Madam!" The man shouted at them, waving his arms madly as he ran when they tried approaching the small doors. "Excuse me," he repeated as he caught up, panting slightly from the short run. "Excuse me, but I am to make sure all patrons are safe . . . You cannot access your room through that door . . . Actually, you're not to be allowed to go back to your rooms, there has been a vampire attack and they believe he (or she I dare say, we have a female vampire locked up to be executed at dawn, but do not worry, she is secure) he might still be here. I must say that you'll be plenty safe with the rest of the patrons and nobles . . . Worry not of matters of privacy tonight! You'll each only be sharing with one other . . . One other couple I should say, and no questionable fellows to... steal the flower of the lady here, no, that would be terrible! No sir, madam, we would not tolerate such people here... Now, if you would please follow me, Sir, Madam . . . " He said, seemingly all in one breath. Kain and Rose glanced at each other than glanced back at the man, being backed into the wall by their subtle advances, he would be leading them nowhere.

"By god," said Rose in a hushed, awestruck voiced after an uncomfortable few seconds of silence and the man's fidgeting. "You talk more than I do!" And with those parting words, Kain put one claw to his throat and his other hand to the man's mouth. The scream never came, never had a chance to.

The gaze Kain filled him with had stolen his voice away. Kain had not killed him . . . yet. He let the fear fill the man's body from head to toe. Kain waited patiently for it, filling his own eyes with hate and death and the promises of pain and let it flow over, spill into the other man. Kain could feel it build, feel it taint him until a single tear spilled out of one of the man's wide, frightened eyes. Only then did Kain kill him, only then did he grant such a mercy.

Kain and Rose continued on, Rose even agreed with Kain on which direction they should be going using logic apposed to a childish whim, maybe Rose wanted this to end just as much as Kain did and cooperated for time's sake . . . They were too close to Umah and so close to ending this accursed mission Kain could feel victory crawl under his skin. (They even made it with a few hours to spare until dawn broke the horizon . . . Assuming the Sarafan would wait for true dawn, that is.) He was excited for the end, he must admit. Connection or no connection, he couldn't wait for some blessed personal space, a concept that Rose didn't seem to understand.

Personal space, how he longed for even the cramped environment Rose had created when they _weren't _playingas intimate as they were now! They were once again pretending to be mere humans. Unfortunately for Kain, acting the couple was a far easier guise to pull than acting the friendly acquaintance. Fewer scornful eyes, less gossip, less intrigue, less notice. Kain liked the idea of less notice, even more than he hated the idea of being this close to Rose for such a prolonged period of time.It didn't matter now, it would all soon be over and Rose wouldn't have to put another silk-enclosed finger on him.

They had taken the easiest route, it seemed, for they had not run into a single guard that could sense Kain's vampirism. One would expect they would, it was almost suspicious that they didn't, but no, this one was _actually _accredited to blind luck for once. From what they gathered from the chitter-chatter they got, the Sarafan had run into a spot of truly bad luck when one of the vampires that worked for them met a bizarre end and another had disappeared. News of which, delighted Rose. ("I do so like irony . . . " was her explanation when asked.) Not only that, but the humans who were servants in the sarafan stronghold seemed avert to ask them questions or disturbing their way in any form, they had actually killed one of a pair and the other had simply pretended not to see! Oh the delight of over privileged nobles! How easy it made their work!

They had been strolling down a corridor that was clearly not meant for public passing and anyone they had met had simply taken a deep bow as they went by as acknowledgment. Yet, was it not for Rose, Kain might have been enjoying himself. Rose was not being out of line, no, he knew how to handle that, she was simply being a weight on his arm. It had, against all probability, reminded him of his mother. She had been a weight, never helping herself, always relying on him and his father. A pathetic thing she was . . .

Kain looked away from this particular memory, his past did not interest him – the present, however, did. They had stopped, and for good reason. They had come upon a clearing, the guards patrolling heavily, and what was best – an eery, befitting mist had settled over everything, wonderful. The guards were guarding something, and Rose was undoubtedly curious and Rose could not put aside a curiosity – no matter how small – and Rose, no matter how quiet or good she was, could not get past all thirty of them without causing a disturbance. Now she would be in a quandary, she absolutely _must_ sate her curiosity, but she absolutely _must_ not ruin their cover, so what to do? Why! Kain would do! He can sneak through the mist! He can remain unseen! Kain could _feel_ her mind process this, feel the tiny little impulse to say "to hell with it! I'm more important!" He could feel the jolt of frustration as she realized she could do nothing but sit by and let him get away. Kain could hardly believe his luck! For one glorious moment, in a night filled with the muck and putrescence that Rose was so fond of emitting, Kain could have one minute without her clammy hand at his arm.

"Kain," she said quietly, "do be a dear . . . " There was no need for her to finish her sentence, Kain had already slipped from sight into the mist. She stayed in the safety of the shadows to wait impatiently for Kain's return.

Kain loved becoming the mist. Not just because he got to get away from Rose, but the entire feel of it. He loved to feel his victims' bodies stiffen with terror as he whispered death into their ears, loved un-vailing himself and watching their faces crumple into a fear that was almost reverence, loved to hear their hearts beat and blood rush as they called "Who's there?" He loved to kill them, especially as the mist.

They never had a chance, the entire plane they stood on was covered in it, and should they get away from him, they had Rose to contend with– Rose who was waiting, hungry for the kill, waiting at the only way in and the only way out. He grinned as he tore the head off of the first human, he felt a giddy rush as he pulverized the bones of the second, a familiar sadistic giggle escaped his throat as he shoved his hand through the small of one's back and out the other side, his giggle blossomed into a maniacal cackle when he tore the last in two. The whole time, he did not feed his blood lust, there would be time enough for that latter, now he sated his death lust. He gave into the pleasure of the kill, the lone thing he had let stay from his human days, the lecherous want for death.

He was standing in a field of bright, tantalizing, fresh blood. There seemed to be too much blood, too much for the few that he had killed. It had always surprised him how much blood one human could have every time he took all of it, to the last drop. There were a few stray limbs and hapless bodies thrown down where ever Kain saw fit to drop them, and over it all, the mist settled, quiet and peaceful, so that you could only see the beautiful death through what seemed an unreal filter. Rose touched his arm and he shifted his gaze to meet hers, she nodded her head towards a small protuberance off the wall, it had a door and it looked as though they had stumbled upon Umah's prison.


End file.
